32(1) - 2020

La traduction de Maeterlinck dans la Chine républicaine (1911–1949) : vue panoramique

Kevin Henry & Yunfeng Hao

Title
The translation of Maeterlinck’s works in Republican China (1911–1949): A panoramic overview

Abstract
In this paper, we will present when, in what political and cultural context and through which channels Maurice Maeterlinck, recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Literature, was introduced into the Chinese sphere. After briefly discussing the circumstances under which foreign literature made a breakthrough in a declining Chinese Empire from the late nineteenth century through a wave of translations unparalleled for more than a millennium, we will see how the translation of Maeterlinck’s works fed the fashion of symbolism in the Middle Kingdom. We will then take a look at the history of Maeterlinck’s translation in Republican China (1911‑1949) and its reception in local intellectual circles, including by examining some critical reviews that have been made of his work in literary journals. Finally, we will undertake to portray some of the translators who built the reputation of the Belgian playwright in pre-Communist China.

Keywords
Maurice Maeterlinck, history of translation, Chinese, Republican China

DOI 10.17462/para.2020.01.05

April 24, 2020
  32(1) - 2020