The history of American literature translation in China

The dissertation is a study of why and how American literary works have been translated in China, how Chinese culture and politics have influenced the selection and translation process, and how the works, in turn, have influenced Chinese politics, literature, and ideology.;Through the years since 1864 the process of selection and translation has followed a pattern attributable to Confucianism, and discernible throughout the social and governmental changes.;The key characteristics of Confucianism which are relevant to an analysis of American literature translation are: (a) that China was perceived as being the "center" of the world, and that outside influences are essentially inferior and dangerous, and (b) that the governmental structures of China throughout this millennium have included a class of scholar-bureaucrats who make the cultural decisions concerning what works of literature will be made available to the literate public. The result of these factors is that there has been, over the centuries, a reluctance to translate foreign literature, particularly anything perceived as dangerous to the morals of the community, and the works that have been selected for translation were chosen because they were seen as being useful from a purely utilitarian point of view to the development of China.;In the selection process the interests of bureaucrats and intellectuals did not always coincide. The former tended to select materials that were thought to have political value, while the latter looked for literary merit and had a broader view of what American works were "useful." The result is that the influence of American literature in translation on China has been felt mainly in the areas of politics, ethics, and culture and these translations were consistent with the prevailing social values of whatever time-period in which the translations occurred.;Close analysis of the works which managed to get translated and the numbers published shows that American literature ended up having a far greater influence on Chinese society than the scholar-bureaucrats who tried to control the influence anticipated. American literature, in fact, has succeeded to some degree in undermining the Confucian ideology and other forms of official doctrines.