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Volume 15, Issue 1
  • ISSN 1598-7647
  • E-ISSN: 2451-909X
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Abstract

The first seventeen years of the People’s Republic of China (PRC, 1949–1966) was a critical period for the newly established nation to gain international recognition. The period witnessed a unique translation activity, i.e. SL-generated translation of a large number of classical and modern Chinese literature into English and other foreign languages. These state-sponsored translations were mainly undertaken by teams of Chinese and foreign translators in the Foreign Languages Press (FLP) in Beijing. This paper aims to explore how literary translation was used for nation branding and promoting Chinese communism abroad. It reveals the political agenda behind the outward translation activity. It goes on to probe into the patronage of the FLP to disclose the relationship between the translating institution and the political discourse on the nation. Lastly, the study of the English translation of (), i.e. , a bestseller representative of the ‘revolutionary novel’ of the time, will show that the adaptations aim at recasting revolutionary characters as “perfect” heroes so as to project an ideal image of the modern Chinese nation. The paper concludes with a call to integrate outward translation into TS. Based on Luhmann’s sociology of communication it provides a preliminary observation on the reception of the PRC’s export enterprise, which, more often than not, turned out to be counterproductive.

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2017-08-19
2025-04-24

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/content/journals/10.1075/forum.15.1.02ni
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Chinese socialist realism; extraduction; Foreign Languages Press; image de marque nationale; nation branding; outward translation; Pistes dans la forêt enneigée; presses en langues étrangères; réalisme socialiste chinois; Tracks in the Snowy Forest

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