Tolkien's holiday tradition

Letters from Father Christmas was recently translated into Chinese. The book contains letters that Tolkien wrote to his children every year between 1920 and 1943. [Photo/China Daily]

"Therefore I think the Letters from Father Christmas is the most valuable of Tolkien's works."

Naturally there are doubts about whether the girls are capable of translating Tolkien's works. The book's publisher, Horizon Media, says the girls are fluent in English as they attend international schools, and the language Tolkien used in the letters is simple.

To ensure the quality of the translation, Lai Shengchuan, an award-winning playwright and director who was born in the United States and received a doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, was invited to be the girls' adviser and proofread the translation.

Zhang Jianhua brought his 3-year-old daughter to a release party for the book on Dec 21 in Beijing, so it could be signed by the girls and Huang Lei.

"Though my daughter cannot read the book, I will read for her and I hope she likes it," says Zhang. "Few people write letters with a pen nowadays, but I think we should retain our feeling with paper and cherish the time with our kids."