Eileen Chang: The Performativity of Self-Translation

Jessica Tsui-yan Li, Ph.D. (2002), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ph.D. (2007), University of Toronto, is Associate Professor of Chinese literature and culture at York University. She has published journal articles, book chapters, translations, special issues, and an edited volume on modern and contemporary Chinese literature and culture, Chinese Canadian literature, and Comparative Literature.

• AcknowledgementsNotes about Chinese Romanization and TranslationList of IllustrationsIntroduction: The Practice of Self-Translation in Eileen Chang’s Works1 Eileen Chang as a Self-Translator2 Translation History in China3 Theories of Self-Translation4 Summary of Each ChapterPart 1: Translating the Self1 Rewriting the Self in Memoirs2 Reimagining the Self in Eileen Chang’s Semi-Autobiographical Novels: Xiaotuanyuan 《小團圓》(Little Reunions), The Fall of the Pagoda, and The Book of Change3 Self-Translation as a Performative Act: Duizhaoji – kan lao zhaoxiangbu 《對照記——看老照相簿》 (Mutual Reflections – Looking at Old Photo Albums)Part 2: Paradoxical In-Betweenness4 Interdependence: “Jinsuoji”《金鎖記》 (“The Golden Cangue”), The Rouge of the North, Yuannü 《怨女》 (Embittered Woman), and “The Golden Cangue”5 Authorship: “Shame, Amah!” and “Guihuazheng – Ah Xiao beiqiu” 桂花蒸——阿小悲秋 (“Steamed Osmanthus Flower: Ah Xiao’s Unhappy Autumn”)6 Re-Evaluation: “Deng” 〈等〉 (“Waiting”) and “Little Finger Up”7 Recontextualization: “Stale Mates – A Short Story Set in the Time When Love Came to China” and “Wusi yishi – Luo Wentao sanmei tuanyuan” 五四遺事——羅文濤三美團圓 (“Regret after the May Fourth Movement – The Reunion of Luo Wentao and the Three Beauties”)8 Metacommentary on “Xiangjianhuan”〈相見歡〉 (“A Joyful Rendezvous”) and “She Said Smiling”Part 3: Cultural Translation9 Interpretation: “Demons and Fairies” and “Zhongguoren de zongjiao” 〈中國人的宗教〉 (“The Religion of the Chinese”)10 Distanciation: “Still Alive” and “Yangren kan jingxi ji qita” 〈洋人看京戲及其他〉 (“Westerners Watching Peking Opera and Other Issues”)11 Transformation: “Chinese Life and Fashions” and “Gengyiji” 〈更衣記〉 (“A Chronicle of Changing Clothes”)Part 4: Political Ambivalence12 Authenticity Reconsidered: The Rice-Sprout Song and Yangge《秧歌》13 Postmodern Intertextuality: Chidi zhi lian 《赤地之戀》(The Romance of the Redland) and Naked Earth14 Transcultural Hospitality: “A Return to the Frontier” and “Chongfang biancheng” 〈重訪邊城〉15 Transgressing Boundaries: “The Spyring or Ch’ing k’ê! Ch’ing k’ê!” and “Se, Jie” 〈色，戒〉(“Lust, Caution”)Conclusion: The Performativity of Eileen Chang’s Self-TranslationBibliographyIndex