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Frontiers of Literary Studies in China

ISSN 1673-7318

ISSN 1673-7423(Online)

CN 11-5745/I

Postal Subscription Code 80-982

Front. Lit. Stud. China    2016, Vol. 10 Issue (2) : 255-286    https://doi.org/10.3868/s010-005-016-0017-9
Orginal Article
Translated Illustration and the Indigenization of Christianity in Late Qing Chinese Christian Novels
YAO Dadui()
Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
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Abstract

“Intersemiotic translation” is categorized by Roman Jakobson as one of three types of translation. Translation of illustrations in the late Qing novels, either directly from verbal signs or visual signs, can also be regarded as a typical kind of “intersemiotic translation.” The present article studies illustrations in Chinese Christian literature in the late Qing period, especially those in the Chinese translations of John Bunyan’s works, The Pilgrim’s Progress and The Holy War . Questions to ponder are how inter-semiotic translation occurs between these illustrations—in either transferring or transplanting the meanings from one sign system to another—and how it establishes its legitimacy through religious negotiation, ideological conflict, and cultural integration. The illustrations in the Chinese translation versions of The Pilgrim’s Progress manifest the translators’ and illustrators’ manipulation of repertoires of Chinese religious signs, thereby indigenizing a foreign religion. These illustrations, nevertheless, are not only associated with Christianity, but also with the long-lasting visual signs of Chinese culture. Hence these translated illustrations could be considered as a type of “Translated Christianity.”

Keywords translated illustration      indigenization of Christianity      The Pilgrim’s Progress      inter semiotic translation      translated Christianity     
Issue Date: 24 June 2016
 Cite this article:   
YAO Dadui. Translated Illustration and the Indigenization of Christianity in Late Qing Chinese Christian Novels[J]. Front. Lit. Stud. China, 2016, 10(2): 255-286.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/flsc/EN/10.3868/s010-005-016-0017-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/flsc/EN/Y2016/V10/I2/255
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