In this essay a theoretical assessment is offered of the process of translating and propose a formula to represent this process. A method is sketched to study literature through translation, with the aim of challenging dichotomous views on translation and elaborating a working hypothesis consonant with the mutual articulation and cross-production that the author regards as inherent in translation. The author argues that translation provides a heuristic means to study literature, to the extent that it re-activates possibilities resident in the source text, thus enhancing aspects of the literary text which enrich the act of reading. In discussing this approach to literature, the author draws attention to the case of translating contemporary Chinese poetry, with reference to the recent debate on the subject and examples taken from the work of the contemporary Chinese poet Yang Lian.