TEHRAN-The Chinese translation of “Cell No. 14,” memories of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was unveiled on the opening day of the 30th Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF).

Iranian ambassador to China Mohsen Bakhtiar and cultural attaché Nematollah Iranzadeh were present at the unveiling ceremony on June 19, IRNA reported on Friday.

The book covers the first half of the life of Ayatollah Khamenei, from his early childhood all the way to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the monarchical regime to an end in Iran.

In his book, the author skillfully transports readers to a tangible and realized space through simple yet comprehensive literature. The book's narrative is devoid of imposing or imaginative elements, resulting in a striking sense of concreteness and realization.

It is a remarkable saga of a young cleric blessed with an indomitable spirit who fights a dictatorial regime with his sermons and speeches as well as with his organizational abilities. He never loses hope despite being sent to prison and exile and finally emerges victorious against all odds.

The book serves as a source of inspiration to all activists around the globe who are trying to bring about social and political change.

It also contains unpublished photos of the Leader, his father, and his children, in addition to a photo collection of paintings related to the topics in the book.

The Persian edition of the book was published in 2019. It was a Persian translation of “Inna Ma as-Sabri Nasra” the Leader had written in Arabic. The memories were then compiled by the Iranian Arabic language scholar Mohammad-Ali Azarshab.

Since then, the Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, and Bengali translations of the book have also been published. 

Boasting a total of 220,000 books from China and abroad, the 2024 Beijing International Book Fair is underway in Beijing. The 2024 event is hosting 1,050 overseas exhibitors, 150 more than in 2023.

With the theme “deepening exchanges and learning between civilizations, building a win-win future filled with cooperation,” this iteration of BIBF has added 15 new participating countries compared with 2023, including Bangladesh, the Philippines, the Czech ­Republic, Slovakia, New Zealand, and Nigeria.

The exhibited books cover categories such as philosophy and social sciences, ancient books, science and technology, literature and art, and children's books.

Iran has participated in the event with over 500 titles in various fields including literature, children’s, history, and art among others.

Founded in 1986, the BIBF has become the second-largest book fair in the world and the most internationalized book fair in Asia.

This year’s edition of the BIBF will conclude on June 23.

SS/SAB