This session will explore the translation of pre-fourteenth century Chinese canonical texts from a range of hermeneutic approaches. Nowadays, Chinese literature continues to spread to an increasingly large readership worldwide. Accelerating globalization starting from the early twentieth century has brought a growing interest in Chinese literature that promotes the development of world literature, despite its being less prominent relative to Anglophone literature. Our presenters will discuss the translation of key texts and ideas from the Chinese tradition into English.

Since the writing and the translating of a text occur at different times and spaces, every translation should be regarded as an interpretation of the original text. As Hermans argues, “hermeneutic study is demanding ...[when] we move away from our immediate surroundings” (6). It is undeniable that the transfer of the original text into a new cultural context will create new meanings by translators. However, how does the “transfer” happen? How did the translator interpret the original text? What did the translation bring to the target context? Answers to these crucial questions should be considered from a hermeneutic perspective.

We will begin with “Confusing Confucius: Uncovering Transpacific Travels in David Collie’s Translation of The Four Books” by Yixun Zhang. Despite Edward Said’s influential critique of the portrayal of Confucius as an "exotic philosopher," David Collie’s translation represents transpacific travel of the original text. As part of the earliest missionary project aimed at China, the translation was first published in Malacca; subsequently, it was published in Serampore, India, and later in the Atlantic market. Its peculiar travel experiences request a hermeneutic approach to the text to tease out the multiple agencies in Collie’s translations. Hence, Zhang aims to restore Collie’s experiences during his translating years through archival work, analyzing materials that document the Chinese dictionaries he composed, the Chinese people he socialized with, the medical problems he faced, and detailed publication records. In doing so, Zhang proposes to uncover the autobiographical traces the translator wove into Collie’s work.

Next, Wei Zeng's "Burton Watson’s Agency in the Translation and Production of Late Poems Of Lu You" will discuss the translator’s agency in Burton Watson’s translation of Late Poems Of Lu You, The Old Man Who Does As He Pleases by drawing on the burgeoning development of “Translation Sociology” since the 1970s. Taking Watson’s translation of Late Poems Of Lu You as a case study, this research aims to manifest the multiple agents engaging in its initiation, translation, publication, distribution, and reception. Through an interview with Dr. Jesse Glass, who initiated and edited Watson’s translation, the study will shed light on the interrelationship among various human agents by discovering hidden details about the whole process. The interview shows that Late Poems of Lu You is the joint outcome of agents including the translator Burton Watson; Dr Jesse Glass; the group who helped locate the original Chinese verses; Ahadada Books; and Small Press Distribution. Analysis will revolve around both textual and non-textual elements, such as word choice in translations, the embedment of notes, bilingual layout, and the identification of readership.

Finally, Hongyang Ji will present “Translating Daoism in Contemporary Translation Theory: A (Post-)Anthropocentric Discussion.” This presentation explores the potential that translating and developing Daoism (i.e. philosophies of Laozi and Zhuangzi) in the West may contribute to contemporary ecological translation theory. In the last decade or so, translation studies scholars from different backgrounds have initiated a fruitful conversation between translation and ecology. Daoism emphasizes the interrelationship between humans and nature, the dominant and the dominated, which indicates a kind of early ecological thinking. Ji will focus on the ecological shift occurring in the field of translation studies (i.e. M. Cronin and G. Hu), and the interaction of Daoism with translation theories, considering a post-anthropocentric view of translation. More precisely, this presentation will discuss how Daoism will join the (post-)anthropocentric discussion in translation studies, and what translation studies can take from Daoism to expand the scope of the field that is restricted by Roman Jakobson’s three types of translation.

Focusing on different cases of Chinese classical literature translation, these presentations will help illuminate the importance of Chinese literature to the study of translation. This panel will encourage the audience to ask questions about the translation of these classical works, contributing to the call to engage different voices other than those from the West in the field of translation studies.

Work Cited:

Hermans, Theo. “Schleiermacher.” The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Philosophy, edited by Piers Rawling, et al. Routledge, 2018, pp. 1-17.