The Chinese translation of Arabic literature started from the nineteenth century. The Poem Qasidat Al-Burdah (by Imam al-Busiri ) was the first Arabic literary work translated into Chinese (Ma Fuchu, 1866). Like Mr. Ma, Muslim scholars who had Arabic language skills were the pioneers who translated many Islamic canon works, such as the Holy Quran that had been translated into Chinese several times. Before 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was established, the general Chinese readers’ exposure to Arabic literature was limited only to fragments of stories from Alf Lailah wa Lailah (One Thousand and One Nights). This situation started to change after a few Arabic Language Departments were established to train Chinese Han scholars with Arabic language skills after 1949. The first flourishing of Arabic literature translation into the Chinese language came in the 1980s when the launch of the Reform and Opening-up Policy allowed more Chinese scholars to study in the Arab countries and had more direct contacts with Arab literary scholars. So far, about two hundred pieces of Arabic modern literature have been translated into Chinese, such as the seminal works of Gibran Khalil Gibran, Nagib Mahfuz, and Adonis. They have become widely known in China and enjoyed a large group of readership. On the research front, two or three generations of scholars have studied Arabic literature in depth. In 1987, the Chinese Association of Arabic Literature was established and has been sponsoring academic activities regularly since then. As a result, Chinese and Arab scholars frequently exchange visits and ideas with each other. Despite the unprecedented development, Chinese scholars still face some challenges in their translations and research on Arabic literature. The quality of the Chinese translation needs further improvement. In addition, except for the masterpieces of Arabic literature, most of the works written by contemporary Arab literalists are still little known to the general Chinese public. Furthermore, the issues of copy right and market profits inevitably constrain the spread of Arabic literature in China.

The first Chinese language teaching department in the Arab world was established in 1958 at Ain Shams University in Egypt after the Bandung Conference when China and Egypt formed a temporary alliance during the Cold War. China Studies as an academic discipline in Egypt, however, is a very new development. The Center for Asian Studies at Cairo University was established in 1994 as a policy-oriented research organization. This reflects the growing interest in Egypt about research on Asia. Although at the beginning, their publications mainly focused on Japan, with the rise of China in recent years, there have been more research on China as well. The Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies is another major institute for research on contemporary politics of China. Both Centers have published a series of books on Arab-China international relations. In addition, Zaqaziq University in the al-Sharqia Governorate hosts a Higher Institute of Asian Studies and Researches, which has produced a history textbook on East Asia in general. However, these developments reveal two major gaps on China Studies in Egypt. First, whereas a growing number of Egyptians have studied the Chinese language, most of them go to work in the business sector or as tour guides, rather than becoming a researcher. On the other hand, the scholars who research on China do not always have Chinese language skills. As Cairo University established its Chinese Language Department 2010 (the second one in Egypt) and the Chinese government sponsored Chinese language teaching centers—the Confucian Institute—opened at Cairo University and the Suez Canal University, it is hoped that this gap can be filled in the near future. Secondly, whereas the Egyptian faculties in the Chinese Language Departments at Ain Shams University and Cairo University usually have systematic Chinese language training and have spent some time living in China, their research often concentrate on Chinese linguistics and literature. They have produced textbooks for teaching Chinese as a foreign language to Arabic native speakers. They have also translated some of the masterpieces of Chinese literature. However, shelved mainly in university libraries, these valuable research and translation results are circulated only among a few specialists in the field, but not widely to the general public. The books on China readily available in bookstores or used book market, on the other hand, are still mostly translated from European languages.