Western Theory in East Asian Contexts
Translation and Transtextual Rewriting
Professor Leo Tak-hung Chan author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:12th Nov '20
Should be back in stock very soon

A major contribution to translation and adaptation studies as well as to our understanding of East Asian culture and literature.
Western Theory in East Asian Contexts explores the intricate relationship between Western translation theories and East Asian literary practices. This work delves into the complexities of translation, adaptation, and imitation, highlighting how these forms of transtextual rewriting intersect within the broader framework of translation studies. The book raises two pivotal questions: how can we expand the definition of translation to encompass adaptation and imitation, and how does this broader understanding reveal the disparities between contemporary Western translation theories and the realities of East Asian cultures, both historically and in the present day?
The text emphasizes the recent scholarly interest in adaptations and imitations, spurred by the growth of cinema, fandom studies, and a poststructuralist perspective that re-evaluates derivative literature. By examining numerous examples from East Asian cultural contexts, the authors illustrate how creators have engaged with source texts through appropriation, transcreation, and recontextualization. The analysis particularly focuses on Sino-Japanese and Sino-English case studies, contrasting their approaches to translation and adaptation while considering the evolving traditions that shape these practices in both Eastern and Western contexts.
Ultimately, Western Theory in East Asian Contexts makes a significant contribution to the fields of translation and adaptation studies, while enhancing our understanding of East Asian culture and literature. By bridging theoretical frameworks and cultural practices, the book invites readers to reconsider established notions of translation and to appreciate the rich, dynamic interplay between different literary traditions.
Leo Tak-hung Chan’s latest book sets bold new parameters for translation studies by showing how this discipline needs to embed practices of adaptation and imitation at the core of its analysis. Taking this expanded field of translation studies as his point of departure, Chan presents richly intriguing case studies from East Asian writing – from free translations of Aesop’s fables to adaptations of contemporary manga to imitations of James Joyce – to show how cultural producers in the Sinosphere have creatively remade their source texts in ways that challenge ascendant theories of translation from the global North. This study will be mandatory reading for scholars and students of translation studies everywhere. * Margaret Hillenbrand, Associate Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, University of Oxford, UK *
With a breathtakingly erudite range of examples drawn from trans-textual rewritings in East Asia of the past several centuries, Leo Chan’s Western Theory in East Asian Contexts offers a very welcome non-European perspective on longstanding debates over the nature and boundaries of translation. Particularly valuable is its nuanced application to East Asian literatures of current theoretical work covering the spectrum of translation, adaptation, and imitation, inter alia. From contemporary Japanese anime and Taiwanese television dramas to literary classics like Ulysses, Aesop’s Fables, and Water Margin, Chan repeatedly demonstrates how a holistic approach to the migration of texts across languages and national or cultural boundaries can yield insights that both corroborate and enrich recent theoretical advances in the field of translation studies. * Stephen Roddy, Professor of Modern and Classical Languages, University of San Francisco, USA *
ISBN: 9781501327827
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 348g
248 pages