Hallerstein: A Slovenian in the Forbidden City

In the world of knowledge and mutal respect, the geographical and temporal distances usually have no barriers. This is also evident by the cultural connection that emerged in the 18th century between Slovenia and China. At that time a well educated Slovene missionary dedicated his life and expertise to his new homeland, China, where he was promoted into a Mandarin and included in China’s history. 300 years later the painter Huiqin Wang came from China and combined her knowledge from China with the life in her new homeland Slovenia. She has created an exceptional biographical picture book about a Slovene in the forbidden city. Accompanied by Chinese and Slovene texts, the artist draws the life path of a philosopher, theologican, astronomer, linguist and cartographer from his childhood in Mengeš and Ljubljana to his last days as a respected Mandarin Liú Sōnglíng in the Chinese capital. The picture book, which is textually real and artistically internally simbolic, is not only a miniature monument to some distant happy coincidence, but also a welcome invitation to young people to overcome all obstacles to knowledge and to unite what is good on this planet. The author, the translator and the publisher have obtained the Zlata hruška (Golden Pear) Award for their brave choice of theme and excellent publication of the picture book.