TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) –- Persian literature professor of Beijing University, Zhang Hongnian said that Persian language and literature have gained a special status in China since the past two decades.

Professor Hongnian added that in recent years, China has begun boosting its ties with different nations especially with Iran as an important Asian country.

Teaching the poetry of Hafiz, Sa’di, Ferdowsi, Rumi, Rudaki, Khayyam, Jami, and Anvari in over 100 Chinese universities shows the great interest of China in Persian language and literature, he said, adding that Persian, Arabic, Indian, and Japanese literature have the largest audience among other literatures in China.

He also considered the recent trip of Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ahmad Masjed Jamei accompanied by a cultural delegation to China, a good means to develop cultural ties between the two countries, expressing hope that the Iranian professors and cultural officials help introduce the history of ancient Iran to Chinese people.

Professor Hongnian added that a group of 10 university teachers is busy studying and reviewing world epics of which the Persian epic Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh will be over within a year.

“Persian Literature Masterpieces,” “Rustam-nameh,” and “History of Persian Literature” by this professor have already been published.