Negotiating Religious Gaps
The Enterprise of Translating Christian Tracts by Protestant Missionaries in Nineteenth-Century China
John T.P. Lai(Author)
Steyler Verlagsbuchhandlung
1st Edition
Published on 1. August 2012
Book
385 pages
978-3-8050-0597-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book constitutes a pioneering and comprehensive text-in-context study of the translation of Christian tracts (from English into Chinese) by Protestant missionaries in nineteenth-century China. It focuses on the large body of hitherto widely neglected Protestant Chinese books and tracts, putting the translated texts into their socio-political, cultural and ideological contexts. This integrated approach proves to be fruitful and insightful in describing and explain¬ing actual practices of translation, or translation norms. The book addresses the central issue of how original texts were selected, translated and presented by Protestant missionaries under the patronage of various missionary institutions in order to achieve their specific agendas.
Based on primary materials and rare archival documents, this extensive survey of the corpus of Chinese Christian literature fills a significant gap in the evaluation of Protestant missions to China, especially with regard to the role of the Religious Tract Society (RTS). Moreover, the contributions of Chinese collaborators are examined in detail to achieve a more balanced view in accessing the role of missionary translators. The book also sheds light on the sophisticated procedures and strategies of cross-cultural translation, particularly on the facet of religious translation in the Chinese translation tradition.
Fields of interest: Religious Studies, Translation Studies, History of Christianity in Modern China
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Sankt Augustin
Germany
Target group
Professional and scholarly
China, Religion, Christentum, Protestantismus, Mission, Christliche Traktate, Übersetzung
Dimensions
Height: 24.2 cm
Width: 17 cm
Weight
880 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-8050-0597-5 (9783805005975)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

John Lai
Negotiating Religious Gaps
The Enterprise of Translating Christian Tracts by Protestant Missionaries in Nineteenth-Century China
E-Book
11/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€88.49
Available for download

John Lai
Negotiating Religious Gaps
The Enterprise of Translating Christian Tracts by Protestant Missionaries in Nineteenth-Century China
E-Book
11/2024
1st Edition
Routledge
€88.49
Available for download
Person
John Lai
Content
Introduction Chapter 1: Translation, Protestant Missions, and the Chinese Context I. Historical Context II. Denaminational Context Ideological Control of Tract Societies I. Christian Literature in China Missions II. Institutional Patronage of Tract Societies Chapter 3: Teamwork Translation: The Invisibility of Chinese Collaborators I. Overt Role of Western Missionades II. Covert Contributions of Chinese Collaborators Chapter 4: Christian Tracts in Chinese Costume: A Critical Survey I. Roman Catholic Literature II. Popular Christian Writers Translated III. Classification of Protestant Publications IV. Publication of Christian Literature V. Distribution of Christian Literature Chapter 5: Rewriting the Children's Message: The Peep of Day I. Choice of Text: RTS Patronage II. Method of Translation: Anglo-Chinese Collaboration III. Comparative Study of Four Translations IV. Contextualize Translations Chapter 6: Domesticating for Chinese Literati: The Anxious Inquirer I. The Anxious Inquirer: Original Work II. The Anxious Inquirer in Chinese Conclusion