From the Opium War to the 1911 revolution, China absorbed the 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. The perception that the West had a literature worth noticing grew only gradually in China. Not until the end of the 19th century did a translation of a Western novel (La dame aux camellias) achieve popular acclaim. In the first decade of the 20th century, more translated than original fiction was published. The core essays in this collection deal with aspects of this influx according to division of territory. Some focus on key works (e.g. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Byron’s The Isles of Greece), others on sample genres (science fiction, detective fiction, fables, political novels), but all papers discuss the adjustments made by translators to suit the prevailing norms of the target audience.