Open AccessBetween Rigor and Reverence. Yu Dafu and His Views on Translation
Author(s) -
Paolo Magagnin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
annali di ca' foscari. serie orientale/annali di ca' foscari. serie orientale
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2385-3042
pISSN - 1125-3789
DOI - 10.30687/annor/2385-3042/2021/01/016
Subject(s) - reverence , literature , philosophy , relation (database) , subjectivity , translation studies , poetry , wish , epistemology , art , database , computer science
Despite his prominence in modern Chinese literature and the significant role played by translation in his literary career, Yu Dafu’s (1896-1945) activity as a translation theorist and practitioner remains largely unexplored. Yu translated into Chinese a number of short stories, treatises, and poems by such authors as Wilde, Twain, Sinclair, Nietzsche, and Rousseau; he also devoted several essays to the issue of translation and its practice. Through an analysis of Yu’s theoretical writings, I aim to provide a brief account of his reflections on the subjectivity of the translator, the principles of a desirable translating practice, the relation between translation and original writing, and the cultural significance of translation. By doing so, I wish to highlight the seminal role played by such a reflection in Yu’s artistic career, as well as the specificity of his contribution within the intellectual debate on translation in his time.