“The adventures of Mark Twain in China : translation and appreciation of more than a century” (Publication, 2008)
Year
2008
Text
Li, Xilao. The adventures of Mark Twain in China : translation and appreciation of more than a century. In : Mark Twain annual ; vol. 6, no 1 (2008). (Twa22)
Type
Publication
Mentioned People (1)
Twain, Mark
(Florida, Missouri 1835-1910 Redding, Conn.) : Schriftsteller
Subjects
Literature : Occident : United States of America
Chronology Entries (21)
| # | Year | Text | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1866 |
Mark Twain and Anson Burlingame. Mark Twain's interest in China had been aroused and partially influenced by Anson Burlingame. Twain met Burlingame when he was working as a correspondent for the 'Sacramento Union' in Sandwich Islands, Hawaii. Letter from Mark Twain to Jane Lampton Clemens and Pamela A. Moffett ; Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, 21 June 1866. Hon. Anson Burlingame, U.S. Minister to China, & Gen. Van Valkenburgh, Minister to Japan, with their families & suits, have just arrived here en route. They were going to do me the honor to call on me this morning, & that accounts for my being out of bed now. You know what condition my room is always in when you are not around—so I climbed out of bed & dressed & shaved pretty quick & went up to the residence of the American Minister & called on them. Mr. Burlingame told me a good deal about Hon. Jere Clemens & that Virginia Clemens who was wounded in a duel. He was in Congress years together with both of them. Mr. B. sent for his son, to introduce him—said he could tell that frog story of mine as well as anybody. I told him I was glad to hear it, for I never tried to tell it myself, without making a botch of it. At his request I have loaned Mr Burlingame pretty much everything I ever wrote. I guess he will be an almighty wise man if by the time he wades through that lot. Letter from Mark Twain to Mrs. Jane Clemens and Mrs. Moffett ; Honolulu, June 27 (1866). Mr. Burlingame went with me all the time, and helped me question the men—throwing away invitations to dinner with the princes and foreign dignitaries, and neglecting all sorts of things to accommodate me. You know how I appreciate that kind of thing—especially from such a man, who is acknowledged to have no superior in the diplomatic circles of the world, and obtained from China concessions in favor of America which were refused to Sir Frederick Bruce and Envoys of France and Russia until procured for them by Burlingame himself—which service was duly acknowledged by those dignitaries. He hunted me up as soon as he came here, and has done me a hundred favors since, and says if I will come to China in the first trip of the great mail steamer next January and make his house in Pekin my home, he will afford me facilities that few men can have there for seeing and learning. He will give me letters to the chiefs of the great Mail Steamship Company which will be of service to me in this matter. I expect to do all this, but I expect to go to the States first—and from China to the Paris World's Fair. Letter from Mark Twain to Mrs. Jane Clemens and family ; San F., Dec. 4 (1866). The China Mail Steamer is getting ready and everybody says I am throwing away a fortune in not going in her. I firmly believe it myself. |
|
| 2 | 1902 |
Xin xiao shuo ; no 1 (1902). Photos of world-famous writers were printed at the beginning of each issue. |
|
| 3 | 1903 |
Liang, Qichao. Ying Mei er xiao shuo ji. In : Xin xiao shuo ; no 2 (1903). [Enthält] : Photos of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. |
|
| 4 | 1904 |
[Twain, Mark]. Shi ren hui [ID D29419]. Li Xilao : Chen's version is a translation from the Japanese translation by Hara Hoitsuan. Hara made a lot of changes to the story in order to emphasize Mark Twain's condemnation of makind's capacity for barbarism and to satirize American parliamentary procedure, not minding that his tampering might have weakened the polemical satire. In his endnote, Chen comments on human beings' cruelty and unreliability ; on the world's relentless competition where men feed on each other's honor, property, career, minds and talents. He concludes by asking : "I have translated this article and have so many mixed feelings. What about you, my reader?". |
|
| 5 | 1905 |
[Twain, Mark]. E huang du yu. Yan Tong yi. [ID D29420]. Li Xilao : In Yan Tong's long postscript in which Twain's real name Clemens Samuel Langhorn is revealed, Twin is praised as 'a great writer of the world today, famous for his wits and humor. If he moves his tongue, listeners will laugh ; if he picks up his pen, the whole world will read'. Yan admitted that he had never seen writings so eloquent, vivid, impassioned, cunning, stirring, and incisive since he began to study English. While extolling Twain's style in hyperbolic terms, Yan had his reservations and expressed his regret over Twain's mockery of the Russian Czar's human defects, thinking personal attack inappropriate as well as ineffective. Yan believed in the education of the people as a precondition for a gradual, not radical, social change from autocracy to democracy. |
|
| 6 | 1906 |
[Twain, Mark]. Shan jia qi yu. = [Jialifuniya ren de gu shi]. Wu Tao yi. [ID D29421]. Liu Haiming : It is very difficult to trace humor in Twain's tale in the Chinese translation. The translator felt that the theme of the miner's love for his wife and friendship with the other miners was of more interest than the humor, so the translation is full of stirring emotion white the humour of the original has vanished without a trace. Li Xialo : Wu Tao used vernacular Chinese. The Chinese title and the ending line is borrowed from the Japanese version. The sentimental story seemed to have a particular appeal to some Chinese translators and writers. |
|
| 7 | 1921 |
[Twain, Mark]. Sheng si zhi mi. Yi Qiao yi. [ID D29442]. Mao, Dun : "Mark Twain has become very popular lately because of his humor, but critics have also changed their opinions of him, realizing that to regard his fiction as mere humor is to do him an injustice. In all of Twain's works, be they long or short, is deeply engraved the ideology of democracy ; this very important feature of his works has been realized only in recent years. This is what makes 'The ordeal of Mark Twain', published last year, well worth reading." |
|
| 8 | 1926 |
Sun, Lianggong. Shi jie wen xue jia lie zhuan [ID D29443]. Li Xilao : Sun introduced Mark Twain as a comic writer who 'used his sharp observation and humorous style to satirize all frauds and all hypocrisy. He has marvelous talent in turning whatever he saw and heard into humor and art, yet he was extremely serious in his daily life, as if he did not know to laugh'. |
|
| 9 | 1931 | Lu Xun's son Haiying had found a copy of Mark Twain's Eve's diary, illustrated by Lester Ralph. Lu Xun immediately arranged for its translation : Xiawa ri ji translated by Li Lan [ID D29490]. In the preface Lu tries to tackle the incongruity in Mark Twain – a popular, humorous story teller, who yet proved to be an inveterate pessimist. To his own question : 'Laughing and joking while full of sorrow and sadness, how come ? ' Lu Xun explained that after the Civil War, America became an industrialized society where it was hard for writers to freely express their true thoughts and feelings because people's minds and personalities were now cast in the same mould. According to Lu Xun's observation of what American writers had become, 'Anyone who dared to assert his self would be persecuted'. Mark Twain chose instead to tell jokes in order to survive as a writer, hence this contradictions : sorrow on the one hand, and satire on the other. | |
| 10 | 1932 |
Zhao, Jingshen. Preface. [Twain, Mark]. Tangmu Shaye. Make Tuwen zhu ; Yue Qi yi. [ID D29491]. Zhao felt that to regard Twain as a mere writer of humorous fiction was to do him an injustice, because 'there are tears in his humor'. In Twain's works, 'humor is merely an adjunct' and 'satire is more important'. 'Calling Twain a humorous American novelist is not as appropriate as calling him a social novelist ; he was also a pioneer in America of realism in writing'. He praised Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as two 'ever-shining' characters from among the best children's books and provided a bibliography of 29 works by Twain. |
|
| 11 | 1934 |
[Twain, Mark]. Tuomu Suoye'er de mao xian shi. Wu Guangjian yi. [ID D29503]. Li Xilao : In his introduction Wu spoke more highly of Huckleberry Finn. Why not translate Huckleberry Finn ? We may get a cluer from his observation of Mark Twain's style : the author 'shifts fast' in his writing, suddenly 'from being comic to tragic, from being sentimental to hilarious' ; and, what is more, Finn uses 'a lot of slang and mispronounced dialect'. It is 'hard to understand for non-natives'. |
|
| 12 | 1934 |
Zhao, Jiabo. Meiguo xiao shuo zhi cheng zhang [ID D29504]. "Today American fiction has embarked upon the road of realism in a mighty and powerful manner, thanks to the great trail-blazing contributions of Mark Twain. He merits the title of the Founding Father of American modern fiction." |
|
| 13 | 1935 |
Hu, Zhongchi. [The American novelist Mark Twain]. [ID D29505]. Hu Zhongchi called Twain a pioneer of realism and the first representative American writer after Edgar Allen Poe, saying his works embodied 'the spirit of an important period in American history'. He believed that Twain cared more about political and social questions than any other American writer and that 'his humorous, satirical style was imbued with socialist and democratic thought'. In relating Twain's biography, Hu emphasized his compassion for American blacks and his support for the Russian revolution. In speaking of Twain's literary accomplishments, the article referred to W.D. Howell's citation of Twain as the 'Lincoln of American literature' and to John Macy's evaluation of several of Twain's works. |
|
| 14 | 1935 |
Hu, Zhongchi. [Commemorating the centennial of Mark Twain's birthday]. [ID D29506]. Hu refers to Twain as 'the greatest literary figure, humorist and socialist to appear in America in recent years'. He also informed readers of Twain's fame in the United States and the world as well as describing the large scale of commemorative activities that year. The greater part of this article was dedicated to a description of the Soviet scholar Dinamov's evaluation of Twain. Hu expressed his regret that Twain died without finishing what he could have accomplished, for Twain grew in his later years more and more courageous and forceful in fighting the 'decadent social system'. |
|
| 15 | 1935 |
Shu, Ming. [In memory of Mark Twain's 100th birthday]. [ID D29541]. Shu Ming, after paying tribute to Mark Twain's contributions to the new national literature, pointed out the great writer's weaknesses and shortcomings : he was not so free in his writing and life after all ; and his wife and daughters did a lot of harmful editing and distortion. Shu Ming contrasted Mark Twain's 'tragedy' with Maxim Gorky's development as a writers and came to the conclusion that the reason lies not only in the dissatisfying factors in Twain's family life, but also in the differences between the social systems of the two countries. |
|
| 16 | 1942 |
[Twain, Mark]. Wan tong liu lang ji. Make Tuwen ; Zhang Duosheng yi. [ID D29573]. Chen Bochui said in the preface that the long absence of Huckleberry Finn had been a great loss for Chinese children's literature. He congratulated the translator "Thanks to the unremitting and persistent efforts to Mr. Zhang, the book is now presented before us. How could I not be overjoyed !" |
|
| 17 | 1946 |
Xu, Chi. [On American literature. Meiguo wen xue]. [ID D29574]. "My knowledge of American literature had been very much muddled. For a good example, I did not take Mark Twain seriously at all. I thought he was but an author of children's literature, or a great humorist, at most. Recently, I have begun to see that Lincoln, Whitman, and Mark Twain constitute an ever illuminating trinity that embodies the spirit of America as nation." |
|
| 18 | 1960 |
50th anniversary of Mark Twain's death. Meeting in Beijing. Lao She spoke on 'Mark Twain – the man who exposed U.S. $ Imperialism'. Lao She concluded that Twain was a significant, outstanding satirist and realist, not the harmless 'humorist' described by those critics who had been 'bribed' by the Wall Street. Zhou, Jueliang. 'On Mark Twain's work and thought'. Yuan Kejia presented an introduction to The man that corrupted Hadleyburg. These articles reflected the Chinese scholars' movement away from Soviet influences and towards the work of progressive British and American scholars. Reprints of the translations The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi and The adventures of Tom Sawyer by Zhang Yousong. |
|
| 19 | 1978 |
Dong, Hengxun. Meiguo wen xue jian shi [ID D29603]. Li Xilao : The publication played a significant role in renewing interest in the study of American literature. Mark Twain has been given a fairly comprehensive and quite balanced representation. |
|
| 20 | 1981 |
Xu, Ruci. [The real Mark Twain]. [ID D29605]. Xu challenged the long and widely held critical view of Twain as a pessimist. He insisted on a 'positive' image of the American writer – more passionate, cheerful, and upbeat than pessimistic and misanthropic. |
|
| 21 | 2000 | During his 2000 visit to America, Zhao Qizhen reassured his American audiences of Chinese confidence and their friendship with American people. He paid homage to the contributions made by Mark Twain and his fellow writers in promoting the understanding between two peoples : "Yes, through so many translations, the Chinese readers heard Jack London's Call of the wild, William Faulkner's Sound and fury, Hemingway's 'Bells' – although he did not know For whom the bell tolls. We also heard the leadsman's shout along the Mississippi river 'Two fathoms or Mark Twain'. This pen name of Mark Twain has become a household word in China. Chinese readers have found the American people optimistic, strong, and practical.” |
|
Sources (11)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1904 |
[Twain, Mark]. Shi ren hui. Leng Xue [Chen Jinghan] yi. In : Xin xin xiao shuo ; no 1 (1904). Übersetzung von Twain, Mark. Cannibalism in the cars. In : Broadway ; no 2 (Nov. 1968). 詩人會 |
Publication / Twa84 | |
| 2 | 1905 | [Twain, Mark]. E huang du yu. Yan Tong yi. In : Zhi xue bao (1905). Übersetzung von Twain, Mark The Czar's soliloquy. In : North American review ; no 580 (1905). | Publication / Twa85 | |
| 3 | 1906 |
[Twain, Mark]. Shan jia qi yu. = [Jialifuniya ren de gu shi]. Wu Tao yi. In : Xiu xiang xiao shuo ; no 70 (1906). Übersetzung von Twain, Mark. The Californian's tale. (New York, N.Y. : Harper, 1902). [Übersetzung aus dem Japanischen]. 加利福尼亚人的故事 |
Publication / Twa86 | |
| 4 | 1917 |
[Twain, Mark]. Qi. Zhou Shoujuan yi. In : Ou Mei ming jia duan pian xiao shuo cong kan ; vol. 2 (1917). Übersetzung von Twain, Mark. The Californian's tale. (New York, N.Y. : Harper, 1902). 妻 |
Publication / Twa105 | |
| 5 | 1921 |
[Twain, Mark]. Sheng yu si yu. Yi Qiao [Gu Yiqiao] yi. In : Xiao shuo yue bao ; vol. 7, no 12 (1921). Übersetzung von Twain, Mark. Is he living or is he dead ? In : Cosmopolitan ; September (1893). [Enthält eine Biographie von Twain und eine Einführung in die Novelle von Mao Dun]. 生欤死欤 |
Publication / Twa107 | |
| 6 | 1934 |
Zhao, Jiabo. Meiguo xiao shuo zhi cheng zhang. In : Xian dai ; vol. 5, no 6 (1934). [The growth of American fiction]. 美国小说之成长 |
Publication / Twa152 |
|
| 7 | 1935 |
Hu, Zhongchi. Meiguo xiao shuo jia Make Tuwen. In : Wen xue ; vol. 4, no 1 (1935). [The American novelist Mark Twain]. 美国小说家马克吐温 |
Publication / Twa153 | |
| 8 | 1935 |
Hu, Zhongchi. Make Tuwen bai nian ji nian. In : Wen xue ; vol. 5, no 1 (1935). [Commemorating the centennial of Mark Twain's birthday]. 马克吐温百年纪念 |
Publication / Twa154 | |
| 9 | 1935 |
Shu, Ming. Make Tuwen bai nian sheng chen ji nian. In : Shi shi xin bao ; vol. 12, no 1 (1935). [In memory of Mark Twain's 100th birthday]. 马克吐温百年生辰纪念 |
Publication / Twa185 | |
| 10 | 1946 | Xu, Chi. Guan yu Meiguo wen xue. In : Wen lian ; vol. 1, no 3 (1946). [About American literature]. | Publication / Twa217 |
|
| 11 | 1981 | Xu, Ruci. [The real Mark Twain]. In : Nanjing shi da xue bao ; no 1 (1981). | Publication / Twa244 |
Cited by (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000- | Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich | Organisation / AOI |
|