Transletters. International Journal of Translation and Interpreting 8 (2024), pp. 1-6 ISSN 2605-2954

Gu, M. D., & Schulte, R. (Eds.) (2014). Translating China for

Western Readers: Reflective, Critical, and Practical Essays. State

University of New York Press. 337 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4384-

5511-2.

Book Review

Junyi Li

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Received: 30/10/2024

Accepted: 21/11/2024

 

The volume titled Translating China for Western Readers: Reflective, Critical, and

Practical Essays is an edited volume that explores the theme of translating China

for Western audiences. It was edited in 2014 by Ming Dong Gu and Rainer

Schulte, who are both distinguished scholars and professors of Comparative

Literature (University of Texas). The book contains a compilation of twelve

scholarly papers presented at the Symposium “Translating China into the

West,” which took place in Dallas, Texas, in 2009. It was first published by

State University of New York Press in 2014 and reprinted two years later.

Translating Chinese literature has become an increasingly significant endeavor

with China’s rise on both economic and international scenarios. Gu and

Schulte examine the current state of English translations of Chinese literature,

reader reception, and propose the reader-friendly translation strategies. Given

the cultural nuances embedded in Chinese texts, translating them poses

considerable challenges which, if not handled properly, may lead to sheer

disaster. This volume, thereby, aims to provide a comprehensive theoretical

framework with practical guidelines for translating Chinese texts in a way that

is accessible and appealing to Western readers.

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In alignment with its overarching goal, the present collection follows a reader-

friendly approach, which is reflected in several aspects. Firstly, the editor

requested the authors of the essays to revise their work with a focus on the

perspective of Western readers. This demonstrates a conscious effort to make

the content more accessible and relatable to the target audience. Moreover,

each essay employs real examples that facilitate the understanding and

comprehension of Western readers. For instance, in Chapter 1, Cheng’s

conceptual definition of translation, which highlights the importance of

adhering to the semantic meaning, is exemplified by the Chinese term Dao,

which should be translated as “path” rather than as “creative activity of heaven

and earth.” The latter risks overinterpreting the original meaning and obscuring

the various interpretative nuances inherent in the term. By revising essays to

accommodate the reading experience of Western readers and incorporating

specific examples, the book aims to address the intricacies involved in

translating Chinese texts in a reader-friendly manner.

The volume is well-structured, comprising three distinct parts, each consisting

of four insightful essays that explore various aspects of translating Chinese

texts. Part 1 serves as the theoretical framework by emphasizing the

importance of understanding the source culture as an essential prerequisite for

producing a translation that effectively resonates with its intended readership.

Cheng’s essay (Chapter 1) initiates its discourse by applying hermeneutic

principles of understanding to the translation process. This approach

emphasizes the necessity of understanding the whole, its constituent part, and

the reciprocal relationship between the two to establish the equivalence

between languages. Within this scholarly discourse, Ekström (Chapter 2)

further expounds on the importance of understanding cultural nuances and

finding similarities within dissimilarities. By comprehending different

worldviews, one can identify common sensibilities shared by these divergent

perspectives and employ metaphor as a translation strategy. A thorough grasp

of the source text is essential, yet producing an appealing translation remains a

considerable challenge. To address this, scholars such as Wang (Chapter 3)

advocate for the naturalization of source texts to increase their resonance with

Western readers, citing the success of Mo Yan as a pertinent example. In

contrast, Gu (Chapter 4) supports a writerly approach to translation, which

underscores the translator’s creative agency. This approach is exemplified by

figures like Pound, whose recreation of Chinese poems garnered great acclaim

and exerted a profound influence on numerous Anglo-American poets.

Translating China for Western Readers: Reflective, Critical, and Practical Essays

Building upon the established theoretical frameworks, Parts 2 and 3 delve into

practical aspects of translation. Notably, scholars concur in the importance of

avoiding a strict adherence to linguistic matching when translating Chinese

texts. As a result, scholars and translators have vowed for the reader-oriented

approach in the translation process, leading to a redefinition of faithfulness.

Kubin (Chapter 9) has proposed the fidelity in the tentative to create an art

piece in the target language, exemplified by Goldblatt’s translation of Wolf

Totem. Others have put forth the concept of aesthetic fidelity. Wu (Chapter 6),

Liu (Chapter 7) and Chen (Chapter 12) discuss this notion as the realization of

yijing, which involves replicating in the target language the same realm that

transcends images. In pursuing this objective, preference is given to

nominalization over eventualization, as nouns are more evocative than verbs.

Turner (Chapter 10) and Barnstone (Chapter 11) are among the scholars who

propose metrical fidelity, emphasizing the maintenance of rhetorical figures

while ensuring that the translation avoids clumsiness.

Taken as a whole, the volume encompasses several notable strengths, including

its authoritative nature, its adoption of an experimental approach to address

the translation challenges, and its formulation of new concepts that challenge

established Western stances. In the subsequent paragraphs, I will elaborate on

these aspects in detail.

One of the strengths of the volume lies in its shared authoritativeness. Each

essay is written by a professor affiliated with a prominent institution and

specialized in fields such as Chinese history, philosophy, poetics, literature, and

translation studies. For instance, Michael Nylan is a professor at the University

of California, Berkeley, a world-renowned institution ranked 10th in the QS

World University Rankings 2024 and 6th by subject (history). Frederick Turner

and Ming Dong Gu, both professors of literature at the University of Texas at

Dallas, represent an institution known for its interdisciplinary focus on the arts

and humanities. Beyond the United States, other contributors come from

European universities: Martin Svensson Ekström, from the University of

Gothenburg—one of Sweden’s largest and leading universities—and Wolfgang

Kubin, an emeritus professor at Germany’s highly reputed Bonn University,

add valuable European perspectives to the field. In China, Ning Wang, a

Changjiang Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at

Tsinghua University (ranked first in China and 25th in the QS Rankings 2024),

and Huawen Liu, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a top-tier research

university in China and globally, further enrich the volume’s international

scope. Professors’ affiliations with globally recognized institutions and their

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profound understanding of the subject matter not only contributes to a rich

and multifaceted perspective on the challenges involved in translating Chinese

texts, but it also adds depth and credibility to the insights presented in the

book. As a result of the work’s academic validity, readers can benefit from a

reliable and trustworthy source of information.

In addition to the volume’s authoritative nature, another notable strength lies

in its integration of theory and practice through an experimental approach,

where the scholar observes a phenomenon, poses a hypothesis, analyzes the

case, and formulates a valid theory that serves practical ends. Chapter 12,

authored by Chen, provides a notable illustration of this methodology. Chen

examines the successful translations of Pound in comparison to those of

Lowell, aiming to understand the factors contributing to Pound’s success.

Chen hypothesizes that the reason for Pound’s success lies in his realization of

the Chinese concept of yijin. Through a comparative analysis, Chen finds that

Pound’s translations demonstrate a higher level of aesthetic faithfulness, while

Lowell’s translations prioritize linguistic faithfulness. From this analysis, it can

be inferred that translations that effectively capture the essence of the yijin are

considered more successful and appealing to readers. This experimental

approach not only validates the feasibility of replicating the yijin in the target

text but also provides valuable guidance for translators in their pursuit of

producing accessible translations that resonate with the target readership.

Another significant strength of the volume is underscored by its insightful

perspective on the enduring dilemma in the translation studies concerning the

definition of translation and the role of the translator. Within the volume, one

of the traditional topics discussed is the dichotomy between literal and free

translation. Gu rejects this criterion and suggests the existence of a fluidity in

translation practices, wherein the translator progresses from a stage focused on

faithful source-text-oriented translation to a writerly translation, that aimed at

creatively reproducing the inherent spirit of the source text. These two forms

of translation are not opposing, but rather complement each other. This

perspective calls for a more nuanced understanding of translation practices,

one that goes beyond a simplistic dichotomy, and explores the translation as a

formative process for the translator.

An additional discussion revolves around the reconciliation of fidelity and

beauty through the redefinition of faithfulness in terms of aesthetics.

Traditionally, faithfulness has been associated with strict adherence to the

source text, emphasizing linguistic accuracy and semantic equivalence, as

Translating China for Western Readers: Reflective, Critical, and Practical Essays

exemplified by Nida’s formal equivalence and Newmark’s semantic translation.

However, scholars within this volume argue for a broader understanding of

faithfulness that takes into account the aesthetic qualities and intentions of the

original work. By prioritizing the artistic beauty of the source text, particularly

in the realm of imagery, translators strive to reproduce the aesthetic impact and

emotional resonance of the original piece in the target language. This view of

faithfulness challenges the notion that translation is a purely mechanical

process focused on accuracy. Instead, it highlights the translator’s role in

facilitating the exchange between two languages and cultures and breathing

new life to the source text.

The need to assure the continued life of the source text leads to a significant

paradigm shift in the perception of the translator’s role, challenging the

conventional understanding of their function. Traditionally, translators were

viewed as intermediaries responsible for transferring the source text into the

target language while prioritizing fidelity to the original content and linguistic

aspects. However, the volume introduces a different perspective, proposing

that translators should be regarded as creative writers or even co-authors of the

source text. This viewpoint emphasizes the active role of translators in

modifying the text. As observed by Kubin, Chinese texts often contain

problematic elements, and since translator do not enjoy the same aura as

authors, they are compelled to address these issues in some manner; otherwise,

they risk being perceived as incompetent. Thus, creativity in managing

translation challenges become crucial. By recognizing the creative agency of

translators, the volume underscores their ability to make creative choices

during the translation process. This reframing of the translator’s role embraces

their active participation and contribution, which, to some extent, resonates

with Venuti’s emphasis on the translator’s invisibility.

Alongside the proposition of writerly translation, the exploration of aesthetic

fidelity and the reinterpretation of the translator’s role as a creative writer,

another noteworthy aspect of the essays in this volume is their consistent

emphasis on the use of comparison, which contributes to the originality of the

work. This comparative approach allows for a deeper understanding of the

challenges involved in translation and is particularly evident in Chapter 10,

Translating the Tang Poets, written by Turner, and Chapter 12, Aesthetic Fidelity

versus Linguistic Fidelity, written by Chen. Turner’s essay employs comparison by

drawing parallels between Tang poets and Western artists, highlighting

similarities in style. For instance, he compares the sensibility of early Tang

poets, such as Haoran Meng, to Western artists like Giotto. Through these

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comparisons, Turner enables readers to grasp the essence of Tang poetry by

relating it to familiar artistic expressions from the Western tradition. On the

other hand, Chen’s essay focuses on comparing the translations of two

different translators of Chinese poetry. Through this comparative analysis,

Chen illustrates why one translation may be considered superior to another,

providing readers with an opportunity to form their own judgments on the

translation. This comparative approach not only contributes to the originality

of the volume but also aligns with the reader-friendly nature of the volume by

facilitating readers’ understanding of the subject.

In conclusion, the volume successfully accomplishes the editor’s objective by

providing an insightful and reader-friendly exploration of translating Chinese

texts for Western readers. By establishing a solid theoretical foundation and

offering practical examples, the volume equips readers with valuable strategies

for engaging with the challenges inherent in translating Chinese literature. Its

scholarly rigor and broad appeal make it a meaningful resource for a wide

range of individuals, including scholars, translators, educators, students, and

anyone interested in the field of Chinese translation, literature, and cultural

studies.