The 8th Stirling Annual August Translation Studies Research Events, chaired by Dr Saihong Li, feature eight invited talks, over four days, on Wednesdays in August. The events are free, and you are very welcome to join us.

Our third event 'Lin Shu’s Translations Revisited: Why and How Did they Work? ' will be delivered by Professor Yifeng Sun from the University of Macau, Macau.

Abstract​: Lin Shu (1852–1924) exemplified a rare mix of translation and creativity and has played a unique role in the history of Chinese translation. Without any knowledge of any of the source languages from which he translated with the help of collaborators, he hardly qualified as a translator in the conventional sense. Yet he was exceptionally successful. Much has been written about him as a renowned translator, and his contribution to enlightening the Chinese public by introducing to them Western ideas through literary translation has also been duly acknowledged. But the intriguing question remains: How did he do it? This talk will explore and analyze a complex array of factors that can be attributed to the success of Lin Shu’s translation by applying a holistic approach to the multi-faceted role the translator played in empowering and animating the​ translated text, which unfailingly captured the imagination of the target reader of his time. Lin Shu’s translation has fascinated generations of translation scholars in China, despite or perhaps because of its anomaly and irregularity. Regardless of his linguistic deficiency in terms of source languages and related cultural knowledge, Lin Shu’s cross-cultural understanding and communication are remarkable for bringing life and vitality to the target reader’s reading experience while providing enlightenment and education in values and beliefs.

Biographical information

Yifeng Sun is Chair Professor of Translation Studies in the Department of English and a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Macau. He is also Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland. He is the author of Translational Spaces (2021), Translating Foreign Otherness (2018), Cultural Translation (2016), Perspective, Interpretation and Culture (2nd edition, 2006), Cultural Exile and Homeward Journey (2005) and Fragmentation and Dramatic Moments (2002), and editor or co-editor of Translating Chinese Art and Modern Literature (2019), Translation and Academic Journals (2015) and Translation, Globalisation and Localisation (2008). In addition, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Babel: International Journal of Translation.