The cute Moomin is a cartoon figure 

created by Tove Jansson, a winner of 

the Hans Christian Andersen Award, 

world master of children's literature 

and Finnish painter. Since the relevant 

work's serialization in London's The 

Evening News in 1954, Moomin has 

captured the hearts of readers 

worldwide. To commemorate the 

110th anniversary of Tove Jansson's 

birth, People's Literature Publishing 

House published a new Chinese 

version of Moomin: The complete 

Tove Jansson comic Strip (10 books 

in total). It includes 41 warm and 

humorous stories about the Moomin 

family, which rekindled the 

enthusiasm of Chinese readers for 

the family.

软萌软萌的姆明是国际安徒生奖得主、世界儿童文学大师、芬兰画家托芙·扬松创作的卡通形象，自1954年在英国《伦敦晚报》连载以来，姆明便受到了全世界读者的喜爱。恰逢托芙·扬松诞辰110周年之际，人民文学出版社出版了中文全新版《姆明漫画全集》（共10册），收录了41个关于姆明的温馨幽默漫画故事，再次点燃了中国读者对姆明家族的热情。

In this exclusive interview, let's learn 

about the translator of this work, Shi 

Hua, a children's literature writer.

本期专访，我们一起走近本书的译者——儿童文学作家十画。

Work and live in Wenjiang

在温江工作和生活

Shi Hua, whose real name is Wu Jintao, 

has been creating children's literature 

since 2003. She is the author of fairy 

tales such as An Ideal Forest, The Frog 

Prince, The Villain Map, and How Can 

It Be That Good as well as a collection 

of children's poems titled A Cat Named 

Andersen. She has translated works of 

foreign masters of children's literature 

such as Tove Jansson and Quentin 

Blake. She has been engaged in 

preschool education for 12 years and 

now works and lives in Wenjiang 

District, Chengdu.

十画，本名吴金桃，自2003年起写作儿童文学作品，著有《鼓捣森林》《青蛙王子》《坏蛋图》《怎么能是那么好》等童话作品和童诗集《一只名叫安徒生的猫》。先后翻译托芙·扬松、昆廷·布莱克等外国儿童文学大师作品。深耕学前教育12年，现工作和生活于成都市温江区。

Enjoy translating Moomin comic 

strips

翻译姆明漫画是一种享受

When I first met Wu Jintao, I was 

impressed by her short hair and 

smiling eyes behind her glasses. As 

we stepped into the kindergarten 

where Wu works, we heard the 

sweet voices of children greeting her 

from all around. She smiled and 

greeted those "friends" one by one, 

which seemed to be the best 

explanation for her unbreakable bond 

with children's literature.

初见吴金桃，短发、框架眼镜下藏着一双爱笑的眼睛。来到吴金桃工作的幼儿园，“园长妈妈，园长妈妈”甜甜的声音从四面八方响起，她笑着和她的“小伙伴”们一一打招呼，这份亲和力仿佛是她与儿童文学不解之缘的最好注脚。

The bookshelf in the office was full 

of translations, which witnessed her 

efforts in children's literature 

translation. In particular, the 

translations of the works of Tove 

Jansson and Quentin Blake were 

placed at a prominent position. "Before 

embarking on the translation of 

Moomin comic strips, I initially 

translated the works of Quentin Blake, 

which marked the beginning of my 

journey in translating foreign 

children's literature." When asked 

about the Moomin comic strips, she 

said with a smile, "The publisher 

asked if I was interested in translating 

Tove Jansson's comics. I gladly 

replied that I would be more than 

willing to do so, even without any 

payment, as I have admired her for 

a long time."

在办公室的书架上，满满当当的译本见证了她在儿童文学翻译领域的耕耘，尤其是托芙·扬松和昆廷·布莱克的作品集，更是占据了显著位置。“其实在翻译姆明漫画前，我最先翻译的是昆廷·布莱克的作品，撬开了我翻译外国儿童文学作品的大门。”谈及与姆明的结缘，吴金桃笑言，出版社问我有没有兴趣翻译托芙·扬松的漫画，我开心地说，翻译慕名已久的大师作品，太愿意了，那是不给稿费都愿意做的事情呀！

"I translated every book the publisher 

sent me." Using her spare time after 

work as well as winter and summer 

vacations, Wu Jintao completed the 

Chinese translation of these works one 

by one. In her opinion, the translation 

of picture books is not as quick as 

many people assume. The translation 

process can be slowed down by 

elements of the local culture, such as 

homophone based meme. In 2014, the 

first five works of Moomin comic 

strips translated by Wu Jintao were 

published by People's Literature 

Publishing House, followed by 

another four books. In January this 

year, the last one, the translation of 

Moomin and the TV, was published, 

marking the completion of all the 10 

translations.

“出版社给我一本，我就翻译一本。”吴金桃就这样利用工作后空余时间和寒暑假，逐渐完成着作品的中文译本。在她看来，绘本翻译没有想象中那么快，在过程中会遇到涉及本土文化的内容，例如谐音梗等等。2014年，由吴金桃翻译的姆明漫画前5册由人民文学出版社出版。后四册也陆续出版，今年1月，最后一册《姆明和电视机》出版，由此实现了全10册集齐。

Wu Jintao presents the daily life of the 

Moomin family to Chinese readers 

with delicate words, allowing the 

warmth from the Moomins to 

transcend borders. "Translating 

Moomin comic books is, in itself, an 

enjoyment." Wu Jintao describes the 

stories of the Moomin family using 

this year's buzzword "relaxation". 

"The Moomin family teaches us how 

to face challenges in life with a relaxed 

attitude through their optimism and 

humor. Their ordinary yet genuine 

family bonds resonate with every 

reader."

吴金桃以细腻的笔触，将姆明一家的日常原汁原味地呈现给中国读者，让这份来自“姆明的温暖”跨越国界。“翻译姆明漫画，本身就是一种享受。”吴金桃用今年网络热词“松弛感”来形容姆明一家的故事。“姆明一家以他们的乐观与幽默，教会我们如何以轻松的态度面对生活中的种种挑战，他们平凡而又真实的家庭情感，让每一个读者都能在其中找到共鸣。”

"Classic children's books are not meant 

to be read only in childhood. The 

Moomin comics are such a work; 

readers in different age brackets will 

gain different insights, which is a 

common characteristic of many 

outstanding children's works, both 

domestic and international."

“经典的童书，不一定只在童年阅读。姆明漫画就是这样一部作品，不同年龄段的读者阅读，会有不同的收获，这也是众多中外优秀儿童作品的共性”。

Become a child when I write

写作时我要变身儿童

Wu Jintao's passion for children's 

literature began in her childhood. 

Reading picture books and fairy tales 

was her favorite activity after class at 

the elementary school stage. During 

her postgraduate studies, she started 

to create her own fairy tales and was 

introduced to the translation of 

children's literature. Writing poetry 

has something to do with her work in 

preschool education since 2012. "I 

spend every day with children. Their 

words often inspire me a lot. I see 

those pure, simple, and precious 

expressions from them, which have 

brought the most original inspiration 

to my creation."

对儿童文学的热爱，吴金桃小时候就开始了。读小人书、童话故事是她小学课后最爱做的事情。研究生期间，她开始创作童话作品，并初步接触到儿童文学作品的翻译工作。写诗则和她2012年进入学前教育工作后有关。“每天都和孩子们生活在一起，他们的童言童语常常给我很多启发，我从孩子们身上看到了那些纯真、简单而又宝贵的表达，给我的创作带来了最原始的灵感。”

"Please hold on. I have wiped you five 

times, My dearest little chair. Goodbye. 

Goodbye."

“请你忍住，我已经擦了五遍，最心爱的小椅子，再见了再见了”

The Goodbye, Little Chair is a poem 

that Wu Jintao wrote after saying 

farewell to a graduating class at her 

kindergarten one year. Before the 

departure, she witnessed a child 

holding onto her chair, shedding tears, 

which deeply moved her. "When 

writing, you need to become a child. 

You have to learn to view things 

through their eyes, perspectives, and 

language to create works that interest 

children."

《再见小椅子》就是吴金桃在某年送走幼儿园毕业班后创作的诗。离别前，她看到一名孩子抱着自己的椅子流下了不舍的泪水，深受触动。“在写作的时候，可能你要变身为一个儿童，你要去学习，用他们的眼光、视角、语言来看待事物，才能够创作出儿童感兴趣的作品。”

In 2021, A Cat Named Andersen was 

published by People's Literature 

Publishing House, and its novel and 

personalized concepts of children's 

poetry garnered acclaim. Wu Jintao 

conducted a picture book test at the 

kindergarten where she works: she 

asked the children to pick their 

favorite from 100 picture books 

purchased by the kindergarten. "The 

works selected by the children are all 

well-received classics. The 

commonality of these works is that 

they are close to their perspectives. 

Every child is actually a master of 

picture reading, and good works are 

like mirrors through which they see 

themselves. These works not only aid 

in their healthy growth but also 

preserve the innocence in their hearts."

2021年，《一只名叫安徒生的猫》由人民文学出版社出版，新奇而个性化的童诗构想赢得了赞誉。吴金桃在自己工作的幼儿园开展了一次阅读绘本小测试：让孩子们在幼儿园购置的100本绘本中挑选出自己最喜欢的作品。“孩子们选出来的，都是广受好评的经典作品，这些作品的共性就是与孩子们的视角贴近。所以，每个孩子都是读图高手，而好的作品就像是孩子们从中读到了他自己，这些作品在帮助他们健康成长的同时，更守住了孩子们那颗纯真的心。”