| The overseas dissemination of China-themed books is of great significance to the"going abroad" of Chinese culture.In this paper,China-themed books are broadly understood as works of Chinese and foreign authors dealing with the politics,economy,culture,society,or other aspects of China,varied,as they are,in theme,genre or publication language,ranging from literary works,such as novels,poems,and essays,to academic monographs,painting collections,photography collections,and other categories;and published either in Chinese,or English,French or any other foreign language.Editions Philippe Picquier,founded in 1986,is known for its translation of Asian literature in France,and China has been its main focus since its establishment.Books of Editions Philippe Picquier are often sold in mainstream bookstores and have considerable influence in the book market of Chinese works in France.Since the 1980s,the company has been a significant player in the field of the promotion of Chinese culture in France and in Europe.Therefore,the study aims to analyze its publishing of China-themed books over the past 36 years and derives useful lessons for the overseas diffusion of China-themed books.From the perspective of publishing studies,this paper employs the cultural historian Robert Darnton's "Communications Circuit" model on book publishing as theoretical support.The model shows that political,economic,cultural,and legal factors have an important impact on the publishing of books.Therefore,this paper proposes a detailed analysis of the social background leading to the founding of the Editions Philippe Picquier,its publishing of Asia-themed books,and its publishing of China-themed books as well as an assessment of the impact of its representative Chinese works.It should be noted that given that this paper is not intended as an exhaustive study of the publishing operation and businesses of the French publisher,it has focused itself on analyzing the founding and growth of the publishing house in general and its production of China-themed books in particular.The editorial working process of the publisher or its operations management has only been briefly touched upon to the extent deemed useful to such analysis.The first chapter introduces the process of the founding of Editions Philippe Picquier.This chapter comes to identify the French Sinology tradition,the specific French economic,social,and cultural environment of the 1980s,and the surge in Sino-French cultural exchanges as the major drivers behind the founding of the publishing house.The personal experience and entrepreneurial spirit of the founder are also probed.The second and third chapters examine the current status of the publishing house and its publishing of China-themed books over the 1986-2021 period,respectively.Based on the catalog of China-related titles over the 36 years,the publisher's production and diffusion of China-themed books is divided into three periods,namely,the "start-up period"(19861998),the "growth period"(1999-2012),and the ongoing "adjustment period"(2013-2021).The characteristics and representative works of the publishing effort of each period are analyzed,together with the corresponding social and cultural contexts in both China and France.In the last chapter,the French publisher's first Chinese work,The Gourmet of Lu Wenfu,and Miss Chopsticks,a work of Xinran,are analyzed through the perspective for a framework of assessing communication effects.The spread and impact of the two works are analyzed in terms of the translation process,the library holdings data(per OCLC WorldCat database),and feedback from French media,academia,the publishing industry,and readership.The following findings have been yielded by the present research.Firstly,external factors,such as France's profound Sinology tradition,French economic development in the 1980s,openness in culture,and Sino-French relations,created a favorable environment for the founding of the Editions Philippe Picquier,but the founder's interest in Asian literature and keen business acumen played an equally essential role.Secondly,the publishing house's China-themed books during the 36 years demonstrated different characteristics.The number of titles annually published rose in the "start-up period",peaked during the "growth period"and has since declined as the publishing strategy changed.Thirdly,while the themes of its publishing products have become increasingly diverse,Chinese literature remains the main focus of the Editions Philippe Picquier;and the success of the French versions of The Gourmet and Miss Chopsticks is attributable to a host of factors,from the resonance of relevant Chinese cultural themes with the French audience to the quality of translation and the promotional efforts.Both books have been well received in terms of media coverage,reader comments,and library holdings.Finally,this paper concludes that the publishing of the Editions Picquier's Chinathemed books has been a convergence of the "push force" on the part of China and the "pull force" on the part of France.Indeed,for the "going abroad" cause of China-themed books to thrive,both "push forces" and "pull forces" need to be in place,the former being understood as various forms of support to relevant "going abroad" undertakings of Chinese books,and the latter the fostering by the international community of a readership and a market readily receptive to China-themed books.Only when these "push forces" and "pull forces" are joined can the overseas diffusion of China-themed books achieve greater breakthroughs.In terms of promoting the "going abroad" of China-themed books in the future,this study ends with two suggestions.Firstly,it is suggested that cooperation be sought with countries that are traditionally interested in knowing China,such as France.Secondly,it is suggested that relationship networks and talent pools be maintained through regular contact with international sinologists,translators,and publishers interested in China to pave the way for quality China-themed books to be created,translated,and published in ever greater numbers,for Chinese culture acquiring ever greater appreciation and attraction,and ultimately for an image of a credible,loveable and respectable China. |
PDF Full Text Request