Wenqian Zhang – författare

This book builds on emerging research into the human dimension of literary translators to illuminate how translators can construct and project their brands. Focusing on contemporary Chinese-English literary translators, it examines the evolution and impact of their brand-building within the global literary translation landscape.Zhang deftly integrates research on branding from marketing, management, and publishing studies, and the sociology of translation to develop an innovative framework for understanding the literary translator’s brand. This framework approaches brand-building on three interrelated levels: intra-field (brand input), inter-field (brand investment), and inter-cultural (brand reception) levels. It offers a novel analytical lens that complements and differs from existing tools used to examine literary translators’ presence, such as visibility, translator-function, the translator’s professional status, and celebrity translators. As applied to the case of three prominent figures in the field of contemporary Chinese-English literary translation, Howard Goldblatt, Nicky Harman, and Ken Liu, the approach elucidates the multifaceted role literary translators play beyond the translation process and the power of their brand names in the international literary exchanges.The book highlights the possibilities for new research on literary translators’ brand-building in other contexts and the fruitfulness of an interdisciplinary approach to literary translation more broadly. This volume will be of interest to scholars in literary translation, sociology of translation, publishing studies, and contemporary Chinese literature.

Translating Chinese Internet Literature: Global Dissemination and Adaptation provides a systematic examination of how Chinese Internet literature (CIL) is translated, adapted, and disseminated worldwide, offering critical insights into its theoretical frameworks, industrial dynamics, and cross-cultural reception.Readers will gain a nuanced understanding of the translation processes and challenges specific to CIL, supported by interdisciplinary perspectives from translation studies, media studies, fan studies, cultural studies, and other relevant fields. This volume features in-depth case studies that trace CIL’s global dissemination, and unpack the socio-economic factors influencing its international reception. It also includes updated analyses of emerging subgenres and their terminologies, ensuring relevance to contemporary scholarly and industry discussions.This book will appeal to scholars and students in translation studies, media studies, and cultural studies, as well as industry professionals interested in the globalisation of digital literature. Its interdisciplinary underpinning makes it particularly useful for instructors seeking to incorporate CIL into curricula, while its diverse focuses appeal to researchers analysing cultural production across linguistic, cultural, and medial boundaries. It serves as a key reference for engaging with contemporary Chinese literature and literary translation in digital environments.

This book builds on emerging research into the human dimension of literary translators to illuminate how translators can construct and project their brands. Focusing on contemporary Chinese-English literary translators, it examines the evolution and impact of their brand-building within the global literary translation landscape.Zhang deftly integrates research on branding from marketing, management, and publishing studies, and the sociology of translation to develop an innovative framework for understanding the literary translator's brand. This framework approaches brand-building on three interrelated levels: intra-field (brand input), inter-field (brand investment), and inter-cultural (brand reception) levels. It offers a novel analytical lens that complements and differs from existing tools used to examine literary translators' presence, such as visibility, translator-function, the translator's professional status, and celebrity translators. As applied to the case of three prominent figures in the field of contemporary Chinese-English literary translation, Howard Goldblatt, Nicky Harman, and Ken Liu, the approach elucidates the multifaceted role literary translators play beyond the translation process and the power of their brand names in the international literary exchanges.The book highlights the possibilities for new research on literary translators' brand-building in other contexts and the fruitfulness of an interdisciplinary approach to literary translation more broadly. This volume will be of interest to scholars in literary translation, sociology of translation, publishing studies, and contemporary Chinese literature.