Leo Tak-hung Chan

Twentieth-century Chinese translation theory : modes, issues and debates

Past attempts at writing a history of Chinese translation theory have been bedeviled by a chronological approach, which often forces the writer to provide no more than a list of important theories and theorists over the centuries. Or they have stretched out to almost every aspect related to translation in China, so that the historical/political backdrop that had an influence on translation theorizing turns out to be more important than the theories themselves. In the present book, the author hopes to devote exclusive attention to the ideas themselves. The approach adopted centers around eight key issues that engaged the attention of theorists through the course of the twentieth century, in the hope that a historical account will be presented that is not time-bound. On the basis of 38 articles translated into English by teachers and scholars of translation, the author has written four essays discussing the Chinese characteristics of this body of theory. Separately they focus on the impressionistic, the modern, the postcolonial, and the poststructuralist approaches deployed by leading Chinese theorists from 1901 to 1998. It is hoped that publication of this book will make possible cross-cultural dialogue with translation academics in the West, although the general reader will find much firsthand information on Chinese thinking about translation.

The discourse on foxes and ghosts : Ji Yun and eighteenth-century literati storytelling

The Discourse on Foxes and Ghosts: Ji Yun and Eighteenth-Century Literal Storytelling takes as its subject the eighteenth-century zhiguai (stories of the strange). The focus is on Ji Yuns (1724-1805) Random Jottings at the Cottage of Close Scrutiny (Yuewei caotang biji), but extensive reference is also made to other collections published at about the same time and earlier works in the genre, from the Six Dynasties down to the Ming.

A survey of the 'new' discipline of adaptation studies : between translation and interculturalism

Abstract Literary scholars and historians have long noted a strong tendency in all human societies to rewrite original texts, ending in the production of adaptations that are only loosely connected to their sources. In our age, however, attention has also been drawn to the way these adaptations serve as carriers of cultural subjects and formations that are transmitted through various media, verbal (literary) as well as visual (filmic). Reviewing the research of the past several decades, one might say the study of adaptation as a means whereby cultures cross national and linguistic boundaries has flourished through the work done by scholars of film adaptations, intercultural theatre and childrens literature. However, for some time translation theorists have actually been exploring the theoretical underpinnings of adaptations while providing the methodological tools for close textual investigation. On the other hand, adaptations are also a key area of inquiry for researchers in intercultural studies, which focuses on the interactive relationship between elements belonging to two cultures. Adaptation is, in effect, a translational as well as intercultural mode.

Translating bilinguality : Theorizing translation in the Post-Babelian era

Translation is often defined as interlingual transfer, with correspondences sought between two languages. But what if the original text is written in more than one language? This paper addresses a number of situations where bilinguality impacts on the translation process and problematizes conventional concepts of translation. Several categories of examples are discussed. The first of these involves texts (by Tolstoy and Hemingway) into which isolated stretches of a second language are incorporated. Then there are fictional works where a second language is extensively deployed, but already translated for the reader. Examples are works by Buck, Clavell and Maugham, where Chinese characters are made to speak English and the novelists have to play the role of translators. Finally, there are ‘postmodern’ texts wherein the author inhabits, as it were, two linguistic realms: those of his or her mother tongue and the acquired tongue. The discussion here will revolve around two distinct groups of writers: ...Abstract Translation is often defined as interlingual transfer, with correspondences sought between two languages. But what if the original text is written in more than one language? This paper addresses a number of situations where bilinguality impacts on the translation process and problematizes conventional concepts of translation. Several categories of examples are discussed. The first of these involves texts (by Tolstoy and Hemingway) into which isolated stretches of a second language are incorporated. Then there are fictional works where a second language is extensively deployed, but already translated for the reader. Examples are works by Buck, Clavell and Maugham, where Chinese characters are made to speak English and the novelists have to play the role of translators. Finally, there are ‘postmodern’ texts wherein the author inhabits, as it were, two linguistic realms: those of his or her mother tongue and the acquired tongue. The discussion here will revolve around two distinct groups of writers: those who are competent in more than one language and blend the features of two or more languages in their work (like James Joyce) and those who are proficient in one language but have ‘mother-tongue’ knowledge about another (like Maxine Hong Kingston). A close examination of works by the last category of writers in translation reveals the limits of existing translation theories which are based on a bilingual, one-to-one model and which do not take into consideration features of ‘interlinguality’ and ‘intralinguality’ within texts.

Japanization and the Chinese “Madman”: Triangulating Takeuchi Yoshimi's philosophy of translation

ABSTRACT The special nature of Sino-Japanese translation, with a history as long as that of vernacular translations of Greek and Latin, is worth exploring because it can throw new light on Eurocentric and universalist approaches to translation theorizing. The tradition of translating between China and Japan, disrupted and then reinvigorated by the “invasion of Europe” in the nineteenth century, is the subject of ruminations by Takeuchi Yoshimi (1910–77), a prominent twentieth-century Sinologist. Takeuchi triangulates the relationship between Japan, China and the West in a way that forces a deeper reconsideration of the notion of the “translational”. The West (the Other) is a means through which identity can be constructed by Japan (the Self), but given Japans long history of being shaped by/shaping the China imaginary, China is also Japans Other. Takeuchis prime interest is in Japan projecting its own identity onto China (via Lu Xun). In the present article, Takeuchis two translations of Lu Xuns “The Diary of a Madman” in 1956 and 1976 are compared with those by Inoue (1932), Oda and Tanaka (1953) and Komada (1974) to understand how Takeuchis advocacy of a realignment with China (and Asia) constitutes an attempt to reconstrue a Japanese identity that would refute the Wests monistic view of civilization.

Imitation as translation: from Western theories of parody to Japanese postmodern pastiches

ABSTRACT After critically reviewing the divisions of imitation as proposed by Dryden and Genette, among others, the author discusses the evolution of this concept, from its origins to its latest development in modern England. His aim is to build an objective model for analyzing imitation as a form of translation. He then analyzes a case study from East Asia: Japanese manga imitations of the Chinese novel The Journey to the West, in particular Minekura Kazuya’s 1997–2002 Journey to the Extreme (Gensōmaden Saiyūki). The author seeks to show how the changes made by the manga artists to the plot and characters exemplify ways in which imitations function in a new context. The article ends with some historical reflections on the position of imitation in translation theory and practice, while relating it to the contemporary context. It is hoped that the discussion will contribute to dispelling the misunderstandings and prejudice towards imitation, at the same time encouraging renewed attention to this old concept.

Under the shadow of three lingua francae : repositioning translation in East Asia

Translation as a form of resistance to globalization can be studied in relation to the quest for a common language in East Asia, the fastest-growing regional community in the world in the last few decades. The region has seen at least three lingua francae used in its history, including English, Chinese and Japanese, and the roles of these “languages of wider communication” have been variously documented and studied. In particular, English, the present-day language of dominance, has troubled the East Asian community. The successes of over a century of learning English as a foreign language notwithstanding, there is still skepticism concerning the amount of time and effort spent on acquiring a foreign, western language. In this light, translation becomes a much valorized solution. After all, translation provides the conditions allowing for true democratization, as the case of the European Union attests.