Contextualized Study of Indirect Translation in China: 1898–1936

Abstract

Indirect translation is a significant phenomenon in China from 1898 to 1936. A substantial number of literary works were indirectly imported via a third intermediate language in this period. The article attempts to do a contextualized research into this phenomenon. The study of the socio-cultural contexts will be based on Gideon Toury’s norm theory and Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory, which conceptualize indirect translation as a norm-governed practice, and perceive translation as rewriting which reflects manipulation by ideology and poetics. Then an effort is made to explain the reasons behind the selection of particular text types to be translated, the adoption of indirect translation and the choice of certain mediating languages over others.