ABSTRACT

This chapter divides translation in the long process of the Chinese revolution into four stages, and deals with the different roles that translation has played at these different stages throughout the twentieth century. The Chinese revolution is closely related to the issue of modernity. Modernity has been a heatedly discussed and debated theoretical topic in both Western and Chinese academic circles throughout the 20th century. In the process of the Chinese revolution, translation itself has also developed from its original form of faithfully rendering from one language into another to a larger political and cultural project. Scholars have paid considerable attention to the translation not merely as a linguistic skill but rather as a strategy of cultural transformation and political weapon in the revolutionary cause. It is true that China is one of the very few countries in the world that has greatly benefited from globalization not only economically but also politically and culturally.