Cover not available
Article published In:
Translation and Interpreting Studies
Vol. 10:2 (2015) ► pp.223–242

Does ‘translation’ reflect a narrower concept than ‘fanyi’?

On the impact of Western theories on China and the concern about Eurocentrism

Taking China as a case in point, this paper addresses the concern among some Western scholars that the concept of translation in the European tradition is narrower than in some other cultures so that the spread of Western concepts and theories to the rest of the world is threatening “biodiversity”. A re-examination of the evidence presented shows that this claim is based on a series of misinterpretation of ‘fanyi,’ the Chinese word for ‘translation’. In fact, the traditional concept of translation in China used to be very narrow and rigid. It gradually loosened up only after the transfer of Western translation theories into China, which challenged traditional thinking. Ironically, the concern of the few Chinese scholars who resist Westernization is that the process has put an end to uniformity. As a result of the transfer of Western academic norms and ‘pure’ translation theories, translation research in China has become more sophisticated. The influence of Western ideas in China has caused some concern about Eurocentrism mainly among Western scholars. This concern, however, might itself be Eurocentric since Sinocentrism is the major cause for concern among most Chinese scholars.

Keywords: Eurocentrism, Western, translation, translation studies, fanyi
Published online: 21 January 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.10.2.04cha
References
Chang, Nam Fung
1995 “Zou chu si hutong jianli fanyixue [Out of the dead end and into translation studies].” Journal of Foreign Languages 31: 1–3.Google Scholar
1998a “Faithfulness, Manipulation, and Ideology: A Descriptive Study of Chinese Translation Tradition.” Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 6 (2): 235–258. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1998b “Cong mengxiang dao xianshi: Dui fanyi xueke de dong zhang yu xi wang [From dream to reality: On translation studies as an academic discipline East and West].” Journal of Foreign Languages 31: 40–46.Google Scholar
2001 “Polysystem Theory: Its Prospect as a Framework for Translation Research.” Target 13 (2): 317–332. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2003 “The Application of Delabastita’s Theory of Pun Translation to English-Chinese Translation [in Chinese].” Chinese Translators Journal 11: 30–36.Google Scholar
2005 Yes Prime Manipulator: How a Chinese Translation of British Political Humour Came into Being. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.Google Scholar
2009 “Repertoire Transfer and Resistance: The Westernization of translation studies in China.” The Translator 15 (2): 305–325. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chau, Simon S.C
1986 “Women congjin yihou buyao zai fanyi le: Lun xiandaihua yundong li fanyi gongzuo de taidu yu fangfa.” (Let’s Don’t Translate Anymore from Now on: On the Attitude and Method of the Translator in the Modernization Drive). In Fanyi conglun yijiubaliu (Papers on Translation 1986), ed. by Liu Ching-chih, 70–85. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.Google Scholar
Cheung, Martha
2006 An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation, Vol.11. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
2009a “Qian Zhongshu dui fanyi gainian de chanshi jiqi dui fanyi yanjiu de qishi [Qian Zhongshu’s interpretation of the concept of translation and its implications to translation studies].” Chinese Translators Journal 51: 27–32.Google Scholar
(ed) 2009b The Translator 15 (2). Special Issue: Chinese Discourses on Translation. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen Fukang
1992 Zhongguo yixue lilun shi gao (A History of Chinese Translation Theory). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Google Scholar
China Academic Journals Full-text Database
[URL] (subscription only; last accessed 27 April 2013)
Delabastita, Dirk
1987 “Translating Puns: Possibilities and Restraints.” New Comparison 31: 143–159.Google Scholar
1993 There’s a Double Tongue: An Investigation into the Translation of Shakespeare’s Wordplay, with Special Reference to Hamlet. Amsterdam and Atlanta: Rodopi.Google Scholar
1996 “Introduction.” The Translator 2 (2): 127–139. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008 “Status, Origin, Features.” In Beyond Descriptive Translation Studies: Investigations in Homage to Gideon Toury, ed. by Anthony Pym, Miriam Shlesinger, and Daniel Simeoni, 233–246. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Doorslaer, Luc Van
2011 “(More than) American Prisms on Eurocentrisms: An Interview Article.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 225–234. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Encyclopedia of China Editorial Board
1988 Zhongguo da baike quanshu: Yuyan wenzi juan [Encyclopedia of China: Volume on language]. Beijing: Encyclopedia of China Publishing House.Google Scholar
Even Zohar, Itamar
2002 “Culture Planning and Cultural Resistance in the Making and Maintaining of Entities.” Sun Yat-Sen Journal of Humanities 141: 45–52.Google Scholar
Even-Zohar, Itamar
2010 “Laws of Cultural Interference.” In Papers in Culture Research, ed by Itamar Even-Zohar, 52–69. Tel Aviv: Porter Chair of Semiotics. [URL] (last accessed 27 August 2010).Google Scholar
Fan, Shouyi
1992 “Translation Studies in Modern China: Retrospect and Prospect.” Target 21: 151–76.Google Scholar
Fu, Lei
2005 Fu Lei tan fanyi [Fu Lei on translation]. Shenyang: Liaoning Education Press.Google Scholar
Gentzler, Edwin
1993 Contemporary Translation Theories. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
2008 Translation and Identity in the Americas: New Directions in Translation Theory. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
2011 “Macro- and Micro-turns in Translation Studies.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 6 (2): 121–141. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guo, Yangsheng
2009 “Theorizing the Politics of Translation in a Global Era.” The Translator 15 (2): 239–259. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gunaratne, Shelton A
2009 “Emerging Global Divides in Media and Communication Theory: European Universalism Versus Non-Western Reactions.” Asian Journal of Communication 41: 366–383. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Han, Dihou
1969 Jindai fanyi shihua [Modern English-Chinese translation: A critical survey]. Hong Kong: Swindon.Google Scholar
Hermans, Theo
1999 Translation in Systems: Descriptive and System-oriented Approaches Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Jiang, Feng
2008 “Fulei: yiwei bei wudu le de yuan yishujia [Fulei: A mis-read artist of language].” Paper presented at International Conference on Fu Lei and Translation , held in Nanjing University, Nanjing, China on 15–18 May 2008.
Jin, Di
1998 Dengxiao fanyi tansuo (zengding ban) [In search of equivalent-effect translation (an expanded edition)]. Taipei: Shulin Press.Google Scholar
Jin, Di, and Eugene A. Nida
1984 On Translation. Beijing: China Translation & Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Kothari, Rita, and Judy Wakabayashi
2009 “Introduction.” In Decentering Translation Studies: India and Beyond, ed. by Judy Wakabayashi and Rita Kothari, 1–15. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lao, Long
1996 “My View on Translatology [in Chinese].” Chinese Translators Journal 21: 38–41.Google Scholar
Liu, Ching-chih
1981 “Zhong shensi bu zhong xingsi: Yanfu yilai de fanyi lilun (daixu) [Introduction: Similarity in spirit rather than in form: Translation theory since Yanfu].” In Fanyi lunji [Essays on translation], ed. by Liu Ching-chih, 1–15. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing.Google Scholar
1986 “Xianggang de yuwen yu fanyi (Dai xu) [Introduction: Language and translation in Hong Kong].” In Fanyi luncong yijiubaliu [Papers on Translation 1986], ed. by Liu Ching-chih, 1–19. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.Google Scholar
Liu, Airong
2001 “Jianli you Zhongguo tese de fanyi lilun tixi [The establishment of Chinese unique system of translation theory].” Chinese Science and Technology Translators Journal 41: 42–45.Google Scholar
Liu, Yingkai
1997 “Shilun Naida ‘duzhe fanying’ lun zai Zhongguo de fumian zuoyong [E. Nida’s Theory of the Reader’s Response: Its Negative Impact].” Shanghai Journal of Translators for Science and Technology 11: 1–6.Google Scholar
Lü, Xiaolei
2006 “Di er jie quanguo fanyixue boshi luntan yougan [On the Second National Translation Studies PhD Candidates’ Forum]”. Available at [URL] (last accessed 30 April 2009).
Luo, Xinzhang
1984 “Wo guo zi cheng tixi de fanyi lilun [Our country’s translation theory: A system of its own].” In Fanyi yanjiu lunwenji (1949–1983) [Selected papers in translation studies (1949–1983)], ed. by Translator’s Notes, Editorial Department, 588–604. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Google Scholar
Nida, Eugene A
1964 Toward A Science of Translating: With Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating. Leiden: E. J. Brill.Google Scholar
Nida, Eugene A., and Charles Russell Taber
1969 The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E.J. Brill.Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony
2010 Exploring Translation Theories. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Qian, Linsheng
1988 “Duzhe de fanying neng zuowei pingjia yiwen de biaozhun ma? Xiang Jin Di’Naida liang wei xuezhe qingjiao [Should reader’s response be considered a criterion in assessment of translated works?].” Chinese Translators Journal 21: 42–44.Google Scholar
Qian, Zhongshu
1981 “Lin Shu de fanyi [Lin Shu’s translations].” In Lin Shu de fanyi [Lin Shu’s translations], ed. by Qian Zhongshu, et al., 18–52. Beijing: Commercial Press.Google Scholar
Snell-Hornby, Mary
1995 Translation Studies: An Integrated Approach (Revised Edition). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Susam-Sarajeva, Şebnem
2002 “A ‘Multilingual’ and ‘International’ Translation Studies?” In Crosscultural Transgressions. Research Models in Translation Studies II. Historical and Ideological Issues, ed. by Theo Hermans, 193–207. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Tan, Zaixi
2009 “The ‘Chineseness’ vs. ‘Non-Chineseness’ of Chinese Translation Theory: An Ethnoconvergent Perspective.” The Translator 15 (2): 283–304. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Toury, Gideon
1982 “A Rationale for Descriptive Translation Studies.” Dispositio 71: 22–39.Google Scholar
Tymoczko, Maria
2006 “Reconceptualizing Western Translation Theory: Integrating Non-Western Thought about Translation.” In Translating Others, Vol. 1, ed. by Theo Hermans, 13–32. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
2007 Enlarging Translation, Empowering Translators. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
2009 “Why Translators Should Want to Internationalize Translation Studies.” The Translator 15 (2): 401–421. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wakabayashi, Judy
2005 “Translation in the East Asian Cultural Sphere.” In Asian Translation Tradition, ed. by Eva Hung and Judy Wakabayashi, 17–65. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Wen, Jun, and Shi jia
2009 “Tuli fanyi lilun zai Zhongguo de pingjie ji yingyong” [The reception and application of Toury’s translation theory in China].” Minority Translators Journal 31: 13–19.Google Scholar
Xiao, Qian, and Wen Jieruo
(trans.) 1994 Youlixisi [translation of James Joyce’s Ulysses ]. Nanjing: Yilin Press.Google Scholar
Xu, Zhongbing
1988a “Cong Zhushenghao yi Shashibiya quanji zhong shuangguan de chuli tan Yingyu shuangguan de fanyi [The translation of English puns: With specific reference to The Complete Works of Shakespeare translated by Zhu Shenghao].” Chinese Translators Journal 61: 9–12.Google Scholar
1988b “Yingyu shuangguan de leixing he fanyi [Types of English puns and their translation].” Foreign Languages 6: 29–32, 36.Google Scholar
Yan, Fu
1933 (first published in 1901). “Yili yan [Notes on the Translation].” In Tian yan lun [translation of Thomas H, Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics], trans. by Yan Fu, 1–3. Shanghai: Commercial Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Liyi, and Lou Bingkun
(trans.) 1992 Shi, shouxiang: Zhanmusi Hake gexia de riji [translation of Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay’s Yes Prime Minister ]. Shanghai: Xuelin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Yu, Deying
2004 “A Second Thought on Polysystem Theory: With Special Reference to Russian Formalism [in Chinese].” Chinese Translators Journal 51: 40–44.Google Scholar
Zhang, Jinghao
2006 “Zhuci diandao de fanyi yanjiu he fanyi lilun [Misplaced priorities in translation studies and translation theory].” Chinese Translators Journal 51: 59–61.Google Scholar
Zhang, Longxi
1998 Mighty Opposites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Zhang, Xiaojun
1993 “Yi ci lishixing de huiyi: Haixia liang’an waiguo wenxue fanyi yantaohui ceji [A historic conference: Sidelights on the cross-strait colloquium on the translation of foreign literature].” World Literature 11: 290–299.Google Scholar
Zhao, Yuanren
trans.). n.d. Ailisi manyou qijing ji (translation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ). Taiwan: Wenzheng chubanshe.
Zheng, Hailing
2000 Wenxue fanyixue [Literary translatology]. Zhengzhou: Wenxin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 12 other publications

Chang, Nam Fung
2017. Self-image and self-reflection. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 63:5 ► pp. 643 ff. DOI logo
Chang, Nam Fung
2018. Voices from the periphery: further reflections on relativism in translation studies. Perspectives 26:4 ► pp. 463 ff. DOI logo
Cordingley, Anthony
2022. Self-Translation. In The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, ► pp. 75 ff. DOI logo
Gambier, Yves
2018. Chapter 1.1. Concepts of translation. In A History of Modern Translation Knowledge [Benjamins Translation Library, 142], ► pp. 19 ff. DOI logo
Glynn, Dominic
2020. Theater Translation Research Methodologies. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 19 ► pp. 160940692093714 ff. DOI logo
Glynn, Dominic
2021. Qualitative Research Methods in Translation Theory. SAGE Open 11:3 ► pp. 215824402110407 ff. DOI logo
Huang, Qin & Roberto A. Valdeón
2022. Perspectives on translation and world literature. Perspectives 30:6 ► pp. 899 ff. DOI logo
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2018. Topics and concepts in literary translation. Perspectives 26:4 ► pp. 459 ff. DOI logo
Valdeón, Roberto A. & Youbin Zhao
2020. Literary translation research in China. Perspectives 28:5 ► pp. 645 ff. DOI logo
van Doorslaer, Luc
2017. The relative need for Comparative Translation Studies. Translation and Interpreting Studies 12:2 ► pp. 213 ff. DOI logo
van Doorslaer, Luc
2018. Chapter 3.2. Eurocentrism. In A History of Modern Translation Knowledge [Benjamins Translation Library, 142], ► pp. 171 ff. DOI logo
van Doorslaer, Luc
2021. Alternative labels for “translation”. In Handbook of Translation Studies [Handbook of Translation Studies, 5], ► pp. 4 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 april 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.