On the Origin of Transculturalism: A Study Into the Western Academic Context and its Chinese Translation

Abstract

Abstract The concept of transculturalism has often been used to describe the increasingly complicated interactions between different cultures under the circumstances of globalization. It is also widely used in international communication and intercultural studies in China, and is often translated into different Chinese concepts such as “跨文化” “超越文化” “转文化”. How can we better understand the meaning of this concept in different academic contexts? This paper discovered that this concept was developed as criticism of post-colonialism and that of Western cultural studies reflecting a worldview that is centered on Euro-centrism. The Chinese translation of transculturalism should accordingly vary in different academic discourses. The concept is of great significance to promote cultural equality, cultural connection and respect, cultural exchange and mutual learning. However, cultural competition and western-centrism embedded in Welsch’s definition of transculturalism is worthy of attention.