Truong Que Chi was born on October 10, 1983. At the age of 13, she was regarded the youngest translator.

None of Chi’s family members know any French but Chi’s parents still decided to send Chi to the Vietnam-French bilingual class, the first ever held in Doan Thi Diem Primary School when she reached the school-going age of six. Study is difficult as the first graders do not even know how to read and write in their mother tongue. Many of Chi’s classmates had to leave the class for normal ones. Chi was among the ones who stayed. Moreover, she was an outstanding pupil of the class.

Chi started to translate French stories into Vietnamese when she was in her fifth grade. In her sixth grade, she translated news from French newspaper and those she read on the Internet. The more she translates, the more experience she gains. Now, Chi knows different styles to translate news and stories.

In 1999, Chi’s father brought her translations to Kim Dong Publishing House which specialised in publishing books for children. And books with stories translated by Truong Que Chi started to be seen at bookshops: ‘The Whale with Yellow Eyes,’ ‘The Adventures of Cat and Porcupine,’ and ‘The Little Girl and the Wild Wolves.’ Many parents have bought these books for their children who may be the same age as the translator.

Que Chi, besides translating, also likes writing short stories. The themes in her stories are taken from her own life.

In 2001, Truong Que Chi won the first prize at the 30^th UPU (Universal Postal Union) International Letter Writing Contest beating over two million contestants.

Chi is also an active journalist. More than 200 pieces written and translated by Chi have been published in newspapers. Que Chi is a regular collaborator for Thieu Nien Tien Phong (Vanguard Pioneers) newspaper.

This year, Chi becomes 15. But since Chi was 14 years old, she has been able to earn money for her own spending from translation and royalties. She has also donated part of the money she earned to the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund.

In June 2000, Truong Que Chi was among the 24 most outstanding pupils who were selected to represent Vietnam to participate in the international camping festival in France.

This summer, Chi plans to learn English. "I also want to learn Chinese, German and Italian," she said.

By TRAN HOANG LAN

 

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