Translation and Creation

Readings of Western Literature in Early Modern China, 1840–1918

Editor
David E. Pollard | Chinese University of Hong Kong
HardboundAvailable
ISBN 9789027216281 (Eur) | EUR 110.00
ISBN 9781556197093 (USA) | USD 165.00
 
e-Book
ISBN 9789027283474 | EUR 110.00 | USD 165.00
 
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In the late Qing period, from the Opium War to the 1911 revolution, China absorbed the initial impact of Western arms, manufactures, science and culture, in that order. This volume of essays deals with the reception of Western literature, on the evidence of translations made. Having to overcome Chinese assumptions of cultural superiority, the perception that the West had a literature worth notice grew only gradually. It was not until the very end of the 19th century that a translation of a Western novel (La dame aux camélias) achieved popular acclaim. But this opened the floodgates: in the first decade of the 20th century, more translated fiction was published than original fiction.
The core essays in this collection deal with aspects of this influx according to division of territory. Some take key works (e.g. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Byron’s “The Isles of Greece”), some sample genres (science fiction, detective fiction, fables, political novels), the common attention being to the adjustments made by translators to suit the prevailing aesthetic, cultural and social norms, and/or the current needs and preoccupations of the receiving public. A broad overview of translation activities is given in the introduction.
To present the subject in its true guise, that of a major cultural shift, supporting papers are included to fill in the background and to describe some of the effects of this foreign invasion on native literature. A rounded picture emerges that will be intelligible to readers who have no specialized knowledge of China.
[Benjamins Translation Library, 25] 1998.  vi, 336 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Table of Contents
“This collection contains a number of very interesting articles that should be of interest to any student of China’s modernization.”
“[...] Translation and Creation offers a creative approach to the translation reality in China in the period discussed. It also present critical thinking on the relationship between translation and ideological and literary construction at moments of cultural transformation.”
Cited by

Cited by 24 other publications

Kang-i Sun Chang & Stephen Owen
2010. The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, DOI logo
Chengzhou, He
2001. Chinese translations of Henrik Ibsen. Perspectives 9:3  pp. 197 ff. DOI logo
Chi, Limin
2019. Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (III): Lu Xun. In Modern Selfhood in Translation [New Frontiers in Translation Studies, ],  pp. 187 ff. DOI logo
HAO, TIANHU
2012. Milton in Late‐Qing China (1837‐1911) and the Production of Cross‐Cultural Knowledge1. Milton Quarterly 46:2  pp. 86 ff. DOI logo
Hung, Eva
1999. The Role of the Foreign Translator in the Chinese Translation Tradition, 2nd to 19th Century. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 11:2  pp. 223 ff. DOI logo
Li, Bo
2013. The Manipulation of Images of Women in Translation in Early Twentieth Century Hong Kong Chinese Newspapers. Media History 19:3  pp. 270 ff. DOI logo
Li, Bo
2019. Serialized literary translation in Hong Kong Chinese newspapers. Translation and Interpreting Studies 14:2  pp. 306 ff. DOI logo
Li, Ping
2012. Ideology-oriented translations in China: a reader-response study. Perspectives 20:2  pp. 127 ff. DOI logo
Lin, Lynn Qingyang
2017. Two Translations of Ji Yun’s Close Scrutiny: the Translator, the Reader and the Settings of Translation. Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences 10:1  pp. 103 ff. DOI logo
Lombardi, Rosa
2021. The Introduction of Naturalism in China, the Role of Mao Dun and the Debate in the Press . Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale :1 DOI logo
Morar, Florin-Stefan
2023. First encounters. Translation and Interpreting Studies 18:1  pp. 139 ff. DOI logo
Ning, Wang
2002. Translation as cultural ‘(de)colonisation’. Perspectives 10:4  pp. 283 ff. DOI logo
Wang, David Der-Wei
2010. Chinese literature from 1841 to 1937. In The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature,  pp. 413 ff. DOI logo
Xianbin, He
2007. Power Relations and Translational Inequality in China. Language and Intercultural Communication 7:3  pp. 240 ff. DOI logo
Xiangyun Zhang, Florence
2022. Une tentative subversive par le « coeur d’enfant » – Traduire l’humanité de Quatrevingt-treize en Chine par Zeng Pu (1872-1935). TTR : traduction, terminologie, rédaction 35:2  pp. 189 ff. DOI logo
Xuanmin, Luo
2005. IDEOLOGY AND LITERARY TRANSLATION: LIANG QICHAO. Perspectives 13:3  pp. 178 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. Epilogue. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 149 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. The Pathological Body. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 39 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. How China Became the “Cradle of Smallpox”. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 15 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. Bibliography. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 197 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. “What’s Hard for the Eye to See”. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 113 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. Notes. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 157 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. Introduction. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2008. The Pathological Empire. In The Afterlife of Images,  pp. 73 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Subjects

Literature & Literary Studies

Comparative literature & literary studies

Translation & Interpreting Studies

Translation Studies

Main BIC Subject

CFP: Translation & interpretation

Main BISAC Subject

LAN023000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Translating & Interpreting
ONIX Metadata
ONIX 2.1
ONIX 3.0
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  97050605