Professor Hongzhi Wang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) gave a lecture on December 12 at the CFLC on the history of Chinese literary translation in the 20th century. The lecture attracted many undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members.
Prof. Wang is head of the CUHK Department of Translation and director of the CUHK Center for Translation Studies. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of London.
Prof. Wang’s lecture on the history of Chinese literary translation in the 20th century was focused on three areas – the cultural turn of translation studies, whether it is scientific to use historical events as demarcation lines for the history of Chinese literary translation, and how scholars should write books on the history of Chinese literary translation in the 20th century.
He identified the weaknesses of traditional translation theory, examined the impact of the translation activity during Sino-British Opium Wars on the translation circles in the subsequent decades, and shared his views of the major phenomena in the history of literary translation.
In addition, Prof. Wang elaborated on the concept of “Chinese literary translation” and reviewed the history of Chinese literary translation. In his remarks on how scholars should write books on the history of Chinese literary translation in the 20th century, he called for the “external studies” of translation and the creation of a “plural system” for literature.
In the Q&A session, Prof. Wang answered many questions posed by the students. He called on the students to broaden their research perspectives and contribute to the development of translation as a full-fledged discipline.
Following the Q&A session, Prof. Wang presented a number of books to CFCL Professor Yang Shizhuo as a gift for the Department of English.
