ABSTRACT
Authenticity sounds like an oxymoron in relation to translation. In the context of cultural translation in China, the notion of authenticity is of enduing relevance. Modern Chinese obsession with authenticity in translation is historically conditioned and has become ingrained in how translation is perceived. It is sometimes argued in the Chinese context of translation, an ideal translation is capable of evoking the illusion of reading the original, involving the notion of authenticity. In a broad sense, three types of authenticity can be identified. First of all, authentic translation is also identified as genuine or real translation as opposed to pseudo-translation. The second type is unabridged translation. The third type includes, somewhat paradoxically, accurate translation. The problem about sameness in relation to translation reflects the ontological uncertainty of the translated text. The heart of the problem for translation is the lack of universal accessibility, or the possible loss of something in the process of creating or increasing accessibility.
