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Article published In: APTIF 9 - Reality vs. Illusion: From Morse code to machine translation
Edited by Frans De Laet, In-kyoung Ahn and Joong-chol Kwak
[Babel 66:4/5] 2020
► pp. 765–779

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Joint patronage in translating Chinese literature into English

A case study on the Chinese Literature Overseas Dissemination Project

 | Lingnan University
Published online: 4 August 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00171.bai
Abstract
There has been a change in the form of patronage in translating Chinese culture/literature into English since the 1990s, that is, from sole patronage to joint patronage. This article discusses joint patronage in translating Chinese literature from Chinese into English through the case of the Chinese Literature Overseas Dissemination Project (中國文學海外傳播工程), which is under the joint patronage of Beijing Normal University, the Confucius Institute at University of Oklahoma, and the University of Oklahoma Press. The goals of this project have been well achieved with the successful launch of the journal Chinese Literature Today (CLT) and the publication of the CLT book series. The success of this project demonstrates that joint patronage is an ideal form of translating Chinese literature into English, and the Chinese Literature Overseas Dissemination Project has set a good example for the introduction of Chinese literature to the Western world.
Résumé
La traduction de la culture et de la littérature chinoises en anglais a évolué depuis les années 1990 pour passer d’un parrainage unique à un parrainage conjoint. Cet article traite du parrainage conjoint dans la traduction de la littérature chinoise, du chinois en anglais, au travers du cas du Projet de diffusion de la littérature chinoise à l’étranger (中國文學海外傳播工程), qui bénéficie du parrainage conjoint de la Normal University de Pékin, du Confucius Institute de la Oklahoma University et de la University of Oklahoma Press. Les objectifs de ce projet ont bien été atteints avec la réussite du lancement du journal Chinese Literature Today (CLT) et la publication de la série de livres de CLT. Le succès de ce projet démontre que le parrainage conjoint est une forme idéale d’introduction à la littérature chinoise et de sa traduction en anglais et que le projet de diffusion de la littérature chinoise à l’étranger est un bon exemple de traduction de celle-ci dans le monde occidental.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Chinese Literature Overseas Dissemination Project
  • 3.The reasons for the success of the Chinese Literature Overseas Dissemination Project
  • 4.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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