The Historical Role of Translation in the New Culture Movement and Its Future Prospect

Abstract

Abstract It is true that translation played an important role in the New Culture Movement (NCM). Without translation the NCM would not have taken place. Similarly, without translation Marxism would not have been introduced into China. But translation does not necessarily mean merely changing from one language into another, but rather, it is a sort of cultural interpretation and a catalyst of cultural transformation. In promoting Chinese literature and culture worldwide, we would not be able to achieve success without translation. We have drawn historical experiences and lessons from the successes and failures of the NCM that in translating Chinese literary and humanities works into foreign languages, we cannot merely depend on the traditional linguistic rendition, but call for a sort of cultural interpretation that is another type of translation. In the current rapid development of high technology and artificial intelligence, some of the functions of traditional translation may well be replaced. In translating Chinese cultural and humanities works into foreign languages, however, this kind of cross-cultural interpretation will play an irreplaceable role.