In this seminar, Dr David N.G. Hull will focus on the techniques of translating the satire of Zhang Tianyi’s novel 'The Pidgin Warrior'.

Zhang Tianyi’s (张天翼 1906-1985) 1936 novel, The Pidgin Warrior(洋泾浜奇侠) presents all manner of problems and opportunities in translation. Among the linguistic hurdles are accents, wordplay, geographic references, censorship and martial arts jargon. But the satire of Zhang Tianyi is anchored in an examination of China’s relationship to nationalism and a newly-critical globalism is the critical period at the beginning of the Japanese invasion. How can a translation remain faithful to the original while providing an English-language reader sufficient context to appreciate the work?