A Portrait of the Artist as a Literary Giant: Thirty Years of Joyce Scholarship in China

Abstract

This paper presents “a portrait of the artist” as a literary giant, based on the thirty years of Joyce scholarship in China, with the focus on translations and criticism of his fiction. Joyce’s works have received a diversity of competing Chinese translations, which, in turn, have influenced his reception and criticism, as well as more general translation theories in China. In the last thirty years, there have been continuous outpourings of monographs, articles, and dissertations on Joyce in China. The progress of these publications not only follows significant national and cultural events from the early 1980s to the present but also reflects the changing trends of ideology, politics, and aesthetics in the country. By reviewing the reception of Joyce in a relatively heterogeneous cultural environment, this essay critically examines the development of Chinese scholars’ academic interest in this legendary literary figure since the 1980s.