Cold War Cultural Diplomacy in Outward State Translation of Chinese Literature in the PRC (1949–1966)

Bibliographic Data

ID12349798
AuthorsXiuhua Ni (Guangzhou University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume46
Issue3
Pages530-547
Publication date2021-12-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1035-7823 • E-ISSN: 1467-8403
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10357823.2021.2009765
OpenAlexW4200336589
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

During the formative years (1949–1966) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the outward translation of Chinese literature was a crucial element of an ambitious project of cultural diplomacy. Chinese leaders sought to redefine the PRC by projecting a positive self-image of the newly born state to generate interest, sympathy and support abroad during the Cold War. Despite its political and cultural importance, this project in translational practice has received little scholarly attention. Drawing on archival documents, this article focuses on the rationale, intentions and mechanisms behind the Chinese government’s outward translation project as a form of cultural diplomacy in the first 17 years of the PRC. It thereby provides preliminary observations on the reception and effects of the PRC’s export enterprise, specifically in the English-speaking world, which created new fault-lines as much as it built bridges during the Cold War. It also foreshadows the inherent tensions and challenges for the present China’s more ambitious cultural diplomacy project via ‘sending out’ Chinese literature and culture

China · Diplomacy · Government (linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Soft power · State (computer science · Sympathy · Balkan and Eastern European Studies · Chinese history and philosophy · Law