This paper examines the historical similarities and differences that shaped translation norms in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, which all adopted Chinese characters as their written script and were greatly influenced by Chinese culture. A comparison is also made with translation in China itself. Factors considered include indigenous methods of reading Chinese texts and the subsequent availability of non-Chinese scripts, the selection of texts for translation, the status of the native vernacular in writing and the acceptance of Chinese vernacular fiction, and preferences for importing or coining translational equivalents. Other aspects examined include attitudes towards the introduction of Western ideas and towards translation as a means of national survival, the role of foreign translators, government and private sponsorship, and the professionalization of translation, as well as its theorizing and academic study.