Abstract
T’ien Hsia Monthly (1935–1941) was the only journal that was sponsored independently by the Chinese, aimed at disseminating Chinese thoughts and culture to the West at that time. During its 7 years of existence, the journal translated and published a significant number of modern Chinese literary works in, which had a positive impact on the West. Nevertheless, domestic and foreign research on it has not always been sufficient due to political or other reasons. This article aims to elucidate the foundation of T’ien Hsia Monthly, its social impact at that time, and its stance on cultural communication between the East and the West. It also discusses the translation attitude and strategies the Journal adopted by taking the two most influential modern Chinese writers, Lu Xun and Congwen Shen, as examples. How do literature and cultures which are in a relatively disadvantaged position confirm their self-positioning, national identity, and development orientation, when faced with language and cultures having advantages in the process of translation? The translation of modern Chinese fiction in T’ien Hsia Monthly provides people with a new way to consider “the impartial exchange based on national characteristics.”
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Notes
The president of this institute was Fo Sun, and its directors included famous intellectuals from many other fields, like Yuanpei Cai, Chuanxian Dai, Tiecheng Wu and others, and also some leading figures of Chinese government such as Jiang Jieshi, Xiangxi Kong, Ziwen Song. Though it was a semi-official institute, it advocated that “this institute is purely for academic research, trying to make some contributions to Chinese national culture,” “it is free from political forces or any other relationships” (1986, pp. 748–763). See Nanjing Archive Centre and Management of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Selected Archives of Sun Yat-sen Historical Documents, Nanjing: Jiangsu Classics Publishing House.
The May 4th Movement is a movement started by university students on 4th May 1919 against the unfair terms about China in the “Versailles Peace Treaty.” In order to make China a stable country, the movement advocated the learning from the West.
The Chinese Modern Vernacular Literature Revolution was started early in the 20th Century. It advocated literature written in the vernacular—the speech of the modern “common people.” Before this, Chinese literature was mostly written in Wen Yan Language, which is too complicated to understand by common people.
This journal was founded in The China Society of Science and Arts in 1922, and the English name of which had been changed into “The China Journal” in 1936.
Address, Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hongkong.
The original text was Chinese, and this is the author’s translation.
Ibid.
Straw Scandals failed to be published for some reason, and was finally published in the United States in 1974.
Editorial board members in T’ien Hsia Monthly include: John C. H. Wu (doctor of laws of Michigan University in the US), Yuanning Wen (legume magister of University of Cambridge in the UK), Yutang Lin (doctor of linguistics of the University of Leipzig in Germany), Zenggu Quan (master of philosophy of Harvard University in the US), Hsinnong Yao (master in English Literature of Soochow University in China), Qiuyuan Ye (master of political science of Indiana University in the US).
The original text was Chinese, and this is the author’s translation.
Shao Zhou wrote, “His (Yutang Lin) article on T’ien Hsia Monthly is a translation of the Six Chapters of A Floating Life by Sanbai Shen (Fu Shen) which had been published by Pingbo Yu of ‘Pu She’ (a book store founded by some Chinese intellectuals including Pingbo Yu and others). This article had a hit after the translation has been published… Now it had been also made into a film, and a Chinese-English offprint as a textbook for English learning. Even westerners indulged themselves in the life of an ordinary Chinese couple living in the 18th century.” See Zhou (1993). p. 100. Translated by the author.
Xiaohong Shao, daughter of Xunmei Shao, wrote in her memoir about her father, “When the Confucius on Poetry had a hit in India, and newspapers of India also spoke very highly of it.” Translated by the author.
As Yuanning Wen wrote in the comment for “National art exhibition of China” in January 1938, “Our modern art failed to succeed the art achievement of our ancient predecessors… Modern Chinese art seems to only have a ‘borrowed life’: lack reality and fear creation. Complete imitation of transitory trend of the West can be very disappointing.” See Wen (1938). 5.
Congwen Shen mentioned in Reply to Sweden Friends that he got to know Freud for the first time by Yan Yun who worked as an assistant teacher in Yenching University around 1924 or 1925.
The original text was Chinese, and this is the author’s translation.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Xiangxi is in the west of Hunan province, China.
Dr. Fu Manzhu is a Chinese villain image created by British popular novelist Sax Romer. He first appeared in his fictions in 1913 and achieved great success. Then a large number of fictions and films with Fu Manzhu as the leading character appeared. In the 1920 s and 1930 s, he became very popular in Europe and the United States.
“Lu Xun” was always spelled as “Lu Hsun” or “Lu Hsin” in the 1930–1950.
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Liu, Y. Overseas translation of modern Chinese fiction via T’ien Hsia Monthly. Neohelicon 46, 393–409 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-019-00503-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-019-00503-3