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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 72:1 (2026) ► pp.78–96

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Steering a course between economic returns and ideological services

A case study of publishing translations in the thawing 1980s of China

 | Lanzhou University
 | Lanzhou University
Published online: 17 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.24227.he
Abstract
Taking patronized publishers as a starting point, this article examines how the shift in patronage during China’s thawing 1980s shaped publishers regarding their selection of translations and the framing of those translations through paratexts. It finds that the type of patronage publishers receive can significantly influence their publishing behavior. Undifferentiated patronage can ensure publishers’ ideological compliance, but when patronage lacks economic components, publishers’ ideological commitment can wane. As a result, publishers turned to translations that attracted a broader readership yet were deemed ideologically inappropriate. Furthermore, during this period marked by uncertainty and tentativeness, Chinese publishers chose translations as a means to test their patron’s tolerance and included paratexts to justify their decisions, downplaying profit motives while emphasizing the social importance of their publications.
Résumé
Au départ d’une observation des éditeurs sous mécénat, cet article examine comment l’évolution du mécénat durant le dégel des années 1980 en Chine a façonné les pratiques éditoriales. L’article aborde la manière dont les éditeurs sélectionnent les traductions ainsi que la manière dont ils présentent ces traductions par le biais de paratextes. Il en ressort que le type de mécénat reçu par les éditeurs peut influencer de manière significative leur comportement éditorial. Un mécénat indifférencié peut garantir la conformité idéologique des éditeurs, mais lorsque ce mécénat est dépourvu de composantes économiques, l’engagement idéologique des éditeurs peut s’affaiblir. En conséquence, les éditeurs se sont tournés vers des traductions susceptibles d’attirer un lectorat plus large bien qu’elles fussent considérées inadéquates, idéologiquement parlant. Par ailleurs, durant cette période marquée par l’incertitude et la prudence, les éditeurs chinois ont utilisé la traduction comme un moyen de tester la tolérance de leurs mécènes. En insérant des paratextes pour justifier leurs choix, ils ont minimisé les préoccupations lucratives tout en mettant en avant l’importance sociale de leurs publications.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Publishers as patronage recipients
  • 3.Patronage in transition
  • 4.Death on the Nile
  • 5.Modern Foreign Political Academic Series
  • 6.Lady Chatterley’s Lover
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
References (35)
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