China and the West

Uganda Kwan : Lin Shu translated H. Rider Haggard 's works with a political purpose in mind. By contextualizing the translation background, analyzing the discourse by Lin Shu at the paratranslation level in his translations of Haggard's works and highlighting Lin's treatment of gender, Lin Shu appropriated Haggard's work to refresh the national imagination of China by means of a new allegory – the juvenile boy. Lin Shu adopted a gender-inclusive Chinese term, 'shao nian', to denote the notion 'juvenile'. Through his use of an ostensibly gender-neutral termin reference only to the young male protagonist, Lin Shu exploits and extends Haggard's colonialist politics into a discourse whose intention is to mobilize male Chinese readers to rejuvenate China. His aim was to persuade his audience that China was not a moribund nation despite repeated defeats by foreign powers, and that the country would soon be reborn as a young nation, full of energy, virility and possibilities. To understand Lin Shu's presumed intention, the historical context of Victorian Britain and the ideological importantce of juvenile literature of the kind written by Haggard are examined. Whether British or Anglophone audiences saw more in Haggard than simple adventure stories is unknown, but it is clear that Lin Shu understood their ideology.