Abstract
Despite his prominence in modern Chinese literature and the significant role played by translation in his literary career, Yu Dafu’s (1896-1945) activity as a translation theorist and practitioner remains largely unexplored. Yu translated into Chinese a number of short stories, treatises, and poems by such authors as Wilde, Twain, Sinclair, Nietzsche, and Rousseau; he also devoted several essays to the issue of translation and its practice. Through an analysis of Yu’s theoretical writings, I aim to provide a brief account of his reflections on the subjectivity of the translator, the principles of a desirable translating practice, the relation between translation and original writing, and the cultural significance of translation. By doing so, I wish to highlight the seminal role played by such a reflection in Yu’s artistic career, as well as the specificity of his contribution within the intellectual debate on translation in his time.
Highlights
Yu Dafu 郁達夫 (1896-1945), a leading figure of the Creation Society (Chuangzaoshe 創造社), holds a special position in the variegated literature linked to the so-called May Fourth Movement (Wusi yundong 五四運動) of 1919
A striking number of short novels, poems and essays translated in this period appeared in journals or were published shortly afterwards in the collections Five Minor Writers (Xiao jia zhi wu 小家之伍) (Yu 1930), A Few Great Writers ( Jige weida de zuojia 幾個偉大的作家 (Yu 1934), and Dafu’s Collected Translations e-ISSN 2385-3042
Yu hardly achieved the degree of systematicity we find among other influential May Fourth writers-cum-translators. These aspects still play a central role in his artistic life: significantly enough, the reflection on translation-related matters proved a constant preoccupation, one that did not cease even after he put an end to his career as short fiction writer and drastically reduced his output as a translator
Summary
Yu Dafu 郁達夫 (1896-1945), a leading figure of the Creation Society (Chuangzaoshe 創造社), holds a special position in the variegated literature linked to the so-called May Fourth Movement (Wusi yundong 五四運動) of 1919 He first came to prominence thanks to Sinking (Chenlun 沈淪, 1921), the earliest short story collection in modern Chinese literature.. – and, most notably, incorporate passages from foreign texts, both in their original language and in Chinese translation Such a feature emerges throughout Yu Dafu’s artistic production, and the scholarship on the writer unsurprisingly stresses the central role of foreign sources – mostly absorbed while he was studying in Japan (1913-1922) – in the shaping of his literary universe. I wish to express my gratitude to the two anonymous reviewers for their extremely detailed and helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript, which have helped me fine-tune the present article
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
