Narrative and Genre: Locating Tanci in Chinese Literature and World Literature

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Li Guo
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
Chinese Literature

Translating the Translational: A Comparative Study of the Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese Translations of Xiaolu Guo's A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Flair Donglai Shi
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
English Language ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chinese Student ◽  
Visual Design ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Minor Literature ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Translational Strategies

The untranslatability of this particular novel does not come from the ‘resistant singularity’ claimed by world literature scholars like Emily Apter, but has to do instead with its inherently translational nature as a novel about intercultural (mis-)communication. Comparative close readings of the three versions published in Britain, Taiwan, and mainland China focus on paratexts, intra-textual visual design, and specific translational strategies. Caught between the established traditions of diasporic Chinese literature and liuxuesheng wenxue (‘overseas Chinese student writing’), A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers and its Chinese-language translations offer insights into the dialectic between ‘minor’ literature and ‘world’ literature, discussed here with a particular focus on the global hegemony of the English language.

Chinese Language and Literature Reform in The Beginning of The 20th Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chanh Nguyen Thi Mai ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
World Literature ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Modern Literature ◽  
Language Reform ◽  
Language And Literature ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The 19Th Century

It is difficult not to mention language reform when referring to Chinese literature modernization between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Language played a critical role in facilitating the escape of Chinese literature from Chinese medieval literary works in order to integrate into world literature. The language reform not only laid a foundation for modern literature but also contributed considerably to the grand social transformation of China in the early days of the 20th century. Chinese new-born literature was a literature created by spoken language; in Chinese terms, it was considered as a literature focusing on “dialectal speech” instead of “classical Chinese” used in the past. In international terms, it can be named as living language literature which was used to replace classic literary language in ancient books – a kind of dead language. This article will analyze how language reform impacted Chinese modern literature at the beginning of the 20th century.

“From Postcolonial Literature to World Literature”

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-487
Author(s):  
Kuei-fen Chiu
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
Documentary Film ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Japanese Literature ◽  
Postcolonial Literature ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Literary Historiography ◽  
Award Winning

Abstract Starting with an analysis of the award-winning literary documentary Le Moulin, this paper argues that the film’s reconstruction of Le Moulin Poetry Society in colonial Taiwan suggests world literature as an alternative framework for studying Taiwan literature within cross-cultural contexts. Taiwan literature has been predominantly studied as “postcolonial literature” vis-à-vis Japanese literature and, more recently, “Sinophone literature” in relation to mainland Chinese literature. Instead of deliberating on the subjugated position of Taiwan literature in relation to dominant literatures, the documentary film celebrates the avant-garde experimentation by Le Moulin Poetry Society and underscores the connection of Taiwan literature to world literature through the mediation of Japanese writers. Its employment of what can be called “performative historiography” to fulfill this task raises significant questions about the reinvention of literature, literary canonization, and literary historiography in a new age.

Literary Translation and Modern Chinese Literature

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
JI Jin
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
Modern Chinese Literature ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Literary Creation ◽  
Late Qing ◽  
Narrative Structures ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Cultural Alterity

Since the late Qing, literature in translation and modern Chinese literature have maintained a symbiotic relationship. Translation, understood as an entirely new means of creation and expression rather than a mere change in language, profoundly influenced modern Chinese literature with regard to narrative structures and techniques as well as generic and formal innovations. Literature in translation can be considered from the dual perspectives of cultural alterity and sameness; even as the process of translation was influenced by modern literature, translation played an important role in the development of modern Chinese literature. To regard literature in translation as an integral part of modern Chinese literature challenges how we define the “Chineseness” of Chinese literature. It allows for a new understanding of the dialectic relationship between literature in translation and modern Chinese literature in the broader context of world literature and thus opens up new possibilities for literary creation.

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