E-C Translation as Resistance in the Late Qing 1811–1911

Abstract

Before the investigation of translation as resistance in the Late Qing is conducted, it is highly necessary to revisit the definition of “translation as resistance” in this chapter, distinguishing it from Venuti’s well-known “resistant translation”. Briefly speaking, resistance in Venuti’s formula is aimed at the cultural hegemony imposed by the Western powers and his strategy to this end is foreignizing translation. Resistance in this study, however, is not culturally bound, but rather suggests how a nation seeks to turn against the foreign coercion and aggression. In this sense, translation as resistance refers to translation as being used/manipulated/appropriated to facilitate in self-strengthening/national salvation/race preservation, etc., which, like translation as conquest, can be examined as well in four dimensions: text selection, translation purpose, translation strategy and stylistic choices that correspond respectively to Aristotle’s material cause, efficient cause, final cause and formal cause. In other words, to explore translation as resistance is to observe whether (1) the texts selected for translation can be used for resistance; (2) the translated texts are produced with the purpose of resistance; (3) the stylistic choices facilitate resistance; (4) the translation strategies serve the purpose of resistance.