Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, began a series of memorial events on Saturday marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great French writer, Victor Hugo.

Zhongshan University held a memorial ceremony for Hugo on Saturday morning, attended by Pierre Morel, French ambassador to China, and Marie Hugo, great-granddaughter of Victor Hugo.

An exhibition, titled "the art and life of Victor Hugo", was held in Guangdong Art Gallery on Saturday afternoon, in which biographical details of Hugo translated into Chinese were on display.

A recital of poems by Victor Hugo will be held on Sunday. Students majoring in French Literature from two local universities will recite two of Hugo's poems depicting China in both Chinese and French.

A movie adapted from the works of Victor Hugo is also expected to be shown at local colleges and universities in the near future.

Victor Hugo was widely respected by Chinese people, not only for his immortal masterpieces such as "Les Miserables" and "Notre Dame De Paris" but for his integrity and love of China and Chinese art.

After the Anglo-French Allied Forces burned down Yuanmingyuan in 1860, China's then biggest imperial palace, Victor Hugo was the only renowned writer in the Western world to bravely step forward and protest against the barbarous act.

( April 28, 2002)