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Part of
A World Atlas of Translation
Edited by Yves Gambier and Ubaldo Stecconi
[Benjamins Translation Library 145] 2019
► pp. 81–104

Chapter 4
Contemporary views of translation in China

After a brief summary of the classical theories, this report discusses contemporary notions of translation in China with reference to their international and national dimensions. The first section deals with recent conceptualizations that have merged in response to China’s rise as an economic and political power; the concern for promoting outward translations of the Chinese classics in recent years underlines the attempt to “send out” Chinese culture. Section two notes how, in response to the forces of globalization, translation has also been increasingly thought of as language service, the provision of which will allow China to take up a greater share of the worldwide translation market. The final section surveys how translation “manages” the dialectical relationship between the majority language (Chinese) and the minority languages of non-Han communities in the country. Three keywords sum up the turn-of-the-century Chinese thinking on translation: waishu (exportation), canye (industry) and hexie (harmony).
Keywords: cultural exportation, language service, accommodation, globalization, external translation, internal translation
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Sending-out, soft power, and translation as cultural exportation
  • 3.Commercialization, market economics, and translation as language service
  • 4.Unity, minority languages, and translation as accommodationist strategy
  • 5.Conclusion: Three keywords
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 5 February 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.145.04cha
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