Manuel Pavón-Belizón

This article examines the dynamics driving the translation of contemporary Chinese humanities and social sciences into English between 1989 and 2019. Based on a database of 256 translated works, it identifies three phases of translations: (1) the early 1990s, dominated by works on the 1989 social movement and modernization theory; (2) the early 2000s, marked by a growing interest in China’s intellectual landscape; and (3) the 2010s, characterized by an unprecedented rise in translations, including those initiated and funded by Chinese institutions. This study highlights the mediating role of social, (geo)political, economic and intellectual contexts in shaping translation initiatives, selection processes, and discourse formation. It argues that translation is deeply embedded in geopolitical power structures, influencing the circulation and reception of Chinese humanities and social sciences. By analyzing the evolving dynamics of translation, this article provides insight into how knowledge is transmitted across cultural and political boundaries, revealing the intersection of translation, history, and global power shifts.

This chapter addresses the comparative invisibility of contemporary Chinese women intellectuals in translation flows, focusing on the fields of the humanities and social sciences (HSS). It begins by characterizing the position of Chinese women intellectuals in their own original context and in the translation and circulation of Chinese HSS. I will show that Chinese women intellectuals have occupied a marginal position in the intellectual and academic field of mainland China in comparison to their male counterparts, which is reflected in their lesser visibility in translation. Despite this situation, we find some exceptional cases of women intellectuals whose work has been translated and circulated in other languages. I will address what factors and in what conditions the work of contemporary Chinese women intellectuals have been translated into English in recent decades. For that, I will focus on a specific case study: The translation of the works of Dai Jinhua, a contemporary female cultural studies scholar and public intellectual based at Peking University whose works have been regularly translated and published in English. Her case will allow me to identify the conditions and mechanisms that allow or obstruct processes of translation and circulation. More precisely, I will show the value of social networks in enabling processes of translation. In that sense, this chapter does not only address the issue of invisibility but also intends to point to the social and intellectual practices that counter and challenge those same conditions of invisibility.

This article examines the 2021 Chinese translation of Ariel (1900) by Uruguayan thinker José Enrique Rodó, a seminal text in Latin American intellectual history. Through analysis of the paratexts produced by its translator, editors, and commentators, it explores how Ariel is connected with current Chinese intellectual interests. The study addresses the discursive strategies used in the paratexts to emphasize those aspects of Rodó's work that align with the sociopolitical outlook of its promoters in Chinese, while also neutralizing the text's conservative and Eurocentric elements.