ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the case of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in translating the term 'intangible cultural heritage' to illustrate how translations can vary, even when the same target language is used, revealing the complicacy of cultural politics. To many people in Asian regions, 'cultural heritage' is a translated term. Variations in the translated expression mirror diversified notions of 'intangibility' rooted in different knowledge traditions, which in turn may lead to distinct policies implemented and heritage discourses. Which translation to adopt reveals something of the cultural politics at the state level. In the first place, which source language version among the authoritative texts is taken as the base for translation is indicative of diplomatic relations, knowledge genealogy and often postcolonial interconnections. For numerous local or Indigenous communities, gaining recognition of their intangible cultural heritage would entail a formidable process involving re-translation, re-interpretation and negotiation, inevitably endowing power to those eligible to translate.
