Reading Tolkien in Chinese

Abstract

Approaching translations of Tolkien’s works as stories in their own right, this book reads multiple Chinese translations of Tolkien’s writing to uncover the new and unique perspectives that enrich the meaning of the original texts. Exploring translations of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin and The Unfinished Tales, Eric Reinders reveals the mechanics of meaning by literally back-translating the Chinese into English to dig into the conceptual common grounds shared by religion, fantasy and translation, namely the suspension of disbelief, and questions of truth - literal, allegorical and existential. With coverage of themes such as gods and heathens, elves and ‘Men’, race, mortality and immortality, fate and doom, and language, Reinder’s journey to Chinese Middle-earth and back again drastically alters views on Tolkien’s work where even basic genre classification surrounding fantasy literature look different through the lens of Chinese literary expectations. Invoking scholarship in Tolkien studies, fantasy theory and Religious and translations studies, this is an ambitious exercise in comparative imagination across cultures that suspends the prejudiced hierarchy of originals over translations. Instead of approaching translations as inherently inferior to the original, or focusing exclusively on errors, this book treats the multiple Chinese translations of Tolkien as stories in their own right. The new Middle-earth that emerges from these retellings will help readers re-read the original in a new way. In asking what an “elf” is in Chinese, the study also asks: what, after all, is an elf? Just as Tolkien felt that fantasy can help us return to our daily lives with new eyes for the wonder of ordinary things, this journey into the Chinese Middle-earth and back again will change readers’ views of The Lord of the Rings, even if—especially if—they have read it many times. Even the basic genre classification—fantasy literature—looks different through the lens of Chinese literary expectations. Starting from a theoretical discussion of the intersection of religion, fantasy and translation, the themes for special focus include: gods and heathens; elves and “Men”; race; mortality and the afterlife; fate and doom; language and magic spells. The book focuses on three Chinese translations of The Lord of the Rings, three each of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, as well as single translations of The Children of Hurin and The Unfinished Tales. Informed by current scholarship in Tolkien Studies, Fantasy theory, Religious Studies, and Translation Studies, this book is an ambitious exercise in comparative imagination across cultures.