Popularly known as one of the greatest contemporary writers, Lu Xun is also an extraordinary translator. One might say that his literary writings cannot exist without his translations. By reading The Representative Translation Library of Chinese Translators: Lu Xun Volume, not only can readers have a glimpse into Lu Xun’s translations, they can also gain a deeper understanding of his translation strategies and purposes.

The book is divided into four parts, including novels, children’s literature, and plays and poems that Lu Xun translated, as well as literary essays and literary theories, and introduces Lu Xun’s representative translations and his translation “theories”. In addition, a number of prefaces and epilogues he wrote were also selected to show Lu Xun’s views on translation.

Take the “novels” of the book for example, the first and arguably the most important part of the book. Its selections range from Lu Xun’s first translated book From the Earth to the Moon (by Jules Verne) to Dead Souls (by Nikolai Gogol). One might find that some of these were translated in classical Chinese (wenyan), while others were done in vernacular Chinese (baihua), a fact that is revealing when it comes to the changes of Lu Xun’s translation aims.

Indeed, examining his translated works, we can clearly see several turns during Lu Xun’s “career” as a translator. When he first introduced From the Earth to the Moon to the Chinese readers, it was a time when science was held in high regard, as it was believed “science can save the country”, and Lu Xun hoped the introduction of science fiction could help achieve that purpose. This translation trend was mainly derived from the ideas of Liang Qichao (1873-1929) and other reformists of the late Qing dynasty (1616-1911), as they eagerly brought in Western ideas and culture to broaden people’s horizons. Gradually, Lu Xun’s focus changed to Japanese and Russian literature, for instance Rashōmon and Dead Souls. Apart from that, his translated works changed from novels and novellas to modern short novels, which were very different from traditional Chinese novels in terms of writing techniques and aesthetic tastes. This encouraged the modernization of Chinese literature and its integration with foreign literature towards more literary innovation.

A glimpse of Shaoxing, Lu Xun’s hometown

Besides, Lu Xun’s translation style had undergone quite some changes during the process. In the early years, he followed the fashion of free translation advocated by Lin Shu (1852-1924), who made available nearly 200 works of Western literature to a whole generation of Chinese readers, despite not knowing any foreign language. Later, he abandoned this approach, and instead practiced the literal approach, to the extent that the translated works read like a Chinese mirror of the original. Although these works might not flow as smoothly as readers would have preferred, Lu Xun had his intended purposes. By translating these foreign literary works, he was trying to introduce into China not only new ideas and new thoughts from abroad, but also new words, new expressions and new grammar, so as to build a modern Chinese language system. It was during this period that his linguistic choice took a turn, changing from classic Chinese to vernacular Chinese, and his works were filled with loanwords. The emphasis on faithfulness to the source texts promoted the development of translation theories and methods, as well as the progress of modern Chinese language.

The Representative Translation Library of Chinese Translators: Lu Xun Volume provides sufficient background information for the general literature lovers with detailed footnotes, ensuring that the translations are comprehensive, varied and classic while aiding the readers’ understanding as much as possible. After reading the whole book, the readers will be aware of the sublime value of Lu Xun’s translations, rethinking the enduring power of his works in the meantime.

To appreciate Lu Xun’s literary career in full, one must look at both his original and translated works, as they influenced and helped develop each other. In fact, Lu Xun learned many a writing skill in his translations and tried to apply them in his literary creations, so it is necessary to attach great importance to his translated works. Now, this volume presents the readers with an opportunity to re-read Lu Xun’s representative translations, including the linguistic choices, the translation styles and the translation trends in that historical period.

More important, perhaps, were Lu Xun’s efforts to build a bridge between translating foreign literature and creating new Chinese literary works. As his coinage of “Grabbism”, or Nalai Zhuyi, showed, it was intended to seek new inspirations from foreign cultures, appropriating anything that works from overseas to create something that fits the local context and blazing a new path for Chinese literature. As an outstanding translator, Lu Xun’s uniqueness lies in his broad horizons, as well as his continuous creation and exploration as a writer. The accumulation of foreign “new voices” (xinsheng) by translation has brought about the “new birth” (xinsheng) of Chinese literature.

Jiao Yufei is an undergraduate student from the Institute of Japanese Language and Culture at the School of International Studies, Zhejiang University.

Editor: Huang Yan