Originally a student of Latin at Uppsala University, some one hundred kilometers from the capital, the young Malmqvist's interest in Eastern philosophy led him to begin reading translations of the Chinese classics. Having read many different versions of Lao Tzu's Tao-te-ching he sought out Bernhard Karlgren, who was director of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities at that time. "I asked him, 'Out of so many books, which one is nearest to the original?'" he recalls. Karlgren answered without hesitation, "None of them!" He then pulled out an unpublished English manuscript and lent it to Malmqvist to read at home.

It turned out that this was the manuscript of Karlgren's own English translation, which Malmqvist returned after a week, armed with a battery of questions. Karlgren then asked him the question that was to change the course of his life: "Why don't you just study Chinese? Then you can read the original texts for yourself!"

Fleeing to Stockholm to become a student of sinology Malmqvist had to spend the first two months sleeping on park benches and in the bus station before he could find digs. He joined Karlgren's twice-weekly course on pre-Ch'in literature. There were no elementary classes and he describes how, "I read the Tso-chuan from beginning to end many times but I was really not clear in my mind about what China was."

When Malmqvist won a Rockefeller scholarship in 1948 he got an opportunity to see China for himself. During two years of field work in Szechwan he met his future wife, and they were married in Hong Kong before returning to Sweden. After teaching Chinese in Sweden they then moved to London, where Malmqvist continued his career at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Returning to China in 1956 for a three-year stint as cultural attache to a tense Peking, Malmqvist found the work left little time in which to pursue academic interests, although the couple associated with many writers and the writer Lao She became their good friend. Eventually he returned to the world of academia in 1958, when he accepted a post at the Australian National University in Canberra, which was buzzing with activity under the active support of the Menzies government's policy for building up links with Asian countries.

When he was invited to succeed Karlgren on his retirement in 1965, Malmqvist took his experience back to Sweden. It was not an easy decision for the couple to move country yet again, but Malmqvist went on to found the Chinese Department at Stockholm University and build it up to its present intake of thirty new students each year from around eight or nine hundred applications.

One of Malmqvist's most ambitious plans at Stockholm has been to make access to Chinese books more convenient by bringing together the collections of Sweden's Royal Library, the Stockholm University Library and the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. Although it took eighteen years to get the go-shead, in 1986 his plan was finally realized with the creation of The Stockholm East Asian Library.

The development of the Department's work from the study of the classics and linguistics towards contemporary Chinese studies has been influenced by both circumstance and the character of its head. When younger, while under the powerful influence of Karlgren, Malmqvist felt a responsibility towards serious linguistic research and an urgency to prove his academic sincerity but "now I am a little older, I think that I can also indulge a little in what appeals to me, and contemporary literature and translation are my favorite hobbies."

This love of contemporary Chinese literature led Malmqvist to supervise the EACS Project on Modern Chinese Literature, the fruit of which is a set of four volumes covering novels, short stories, poetry and drama. As well as texts, each entry in the work also comprises basic biographical information concerning the author; complete bibliographical information concerning the first edition of the work; a summary of the content, analysis or appraisal of the work; and references to contemporary reviews, secondary works and translations into English. Malmqvist is responsible for the third volume, which is on poetry and will consist of about 100 collections.

Being one of the selectors of Nobel Prize winners for literature, Malmqvist is always asked why no Chinese has ever won the much-coveted award. He can only stress that the value of literature is subjective. Yet he also points out that many Chinese authors should have won the prize, but remain unknown to the Western audience due to inadequate translation. "Unfortunately," he says, "people who like the works of a particular author may not necessarily have had a good training in translation; while those who have literary sensitivity and expressive ability might not take to translation work."

In order to introduce more contemporary Chinese works to Western readers, Malmqvist has put his rigorous linguistic training and literary flare to use in the translation of nearly one hundred works, which cover a vast range. His main love, however, is for the work of young poets like Pei Tao, Ku Cheng and Yang Lien, whom he speaks of as though he were introducing his own sons. He also expresses his joy at understanding more about Taiwan's literary circles and sees great value in the work of the young poet Hsiang Yang.

He feels that "Pei Tao has created a completely new language, nobody has written like it before; Yang Lien is a 'back to roots' poet who can go back to the pro-Ch'ing--they are all young and full of vitality." As for the natural ability of Ku Ch'eng, he is a "walking poem." He recalls how two years ago Ku gave an off-the-cuff lecture on Chinese poetry for two hours at Uppsala University. His speech was remarkable for its "simplicity, clarity and beauty," and did not fail to rivet the students. "Ku Ch'eng basically had no education, only a few years of primary school, and his handwriting is also quite strange. His way of speaking, however, is remarkable. If this is not a natural poet, then what is it?"

After the Tienanmen massacre Malmqvist received the joint poem "Elegy for the Dead" by Ku Ch'eng and Yang Lien. He immediately translated it and had it published in the English press the next day so that Western readers could know the tragic feelings of the youth of China.

Malmqvist usually uses his spare time to work at his country residence in the south. His holiday routine is very strict--every morning he rises at 6:30 and goes for a swim in the sea. At 7:00 he has coffee and begins translating, not resting until mid-afternoon, living up to his motto Of "stay with it, work with it." He often invites his writers to his country residence where he can "breathe with their works." He retires this year and can look forward to his fortieth wedding anniversary in September, but he will continue his mission with a translation of Hsi-you-chi, or Monkey, "the world's first novel, but it has still not been bettered."

[Picture Caption]

Malmqvist is the sole sinologist among the eighteen members of the Swedish Academy.

Malmqvist met his wife, Ch'en Ning-tsu, in Szechwan.

The Stockholm East Asian Library was conceived as an idea in 1968 but did not become a reality until 1986. It has become the center of sinological research in Sweden. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

His interests ranging from pre-Ch'in to contemporary Chinese literature, Malmqvist is not confined to the ivory tower. Malmqvist and the mainland poet Pei Tao discuss his poetry together.

Malmqvist often spends his vacations in the south of Sweden, where he concentrates on translating.

Malmqvist frequently has a chance to travel to Taiwan and learn about the literary scene here. (photo by Vincent Chang)

Malmqvist is the sole sinologist among the eighteen members of the Swedish Academy.

Malmqvist met his wife, Ch'en Ning-tsu, in Szechwan.

His interests ranging from pre-Ch'in to contemporary Chinese literature, Malmqvist is not confined to the ivory tower. Malmqvist and the mainland poet Pei Tao discuss his poetry together.

Malmqvist often spends his vacations in the south of Sweden, where he concentrates on translating.

Malmqvist frequently has a chance to travel to Taiwan and learn about the literary scene here. （photo by Vincent Chang）