Governance-oriented State Translation Program in the Yuan Dynasty

Gao, Yuxia; Moratto, Riccardo

doi:10.1080/13556509.2021.1984097

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…This is because subjects in the state translation program are multiple and hierarchical, encompassing decision-making subjects (high-level), publicizing subjects (medium-level), and implementing subjects (low-level). In the name of strategic and self-beneficial goals, the sovereign state as the high-level subject entrusts the translation action to the translating institution as the medium-level subject; translators and editors are appointed or authorized as the low-level subject by the translating institution (Gao & Moratto, 2022; Ren & Gao, 2015). It is thus argued that the visual meanings and the ideational intersemiotic relations embodied in the PBS book covers can reflect the complex dynamism among these subjects at different levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Book Covers and State Translation Programs: A Multimodal Approach to Book Covers in the Panda Books Series

2023

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In the era of globalization, institutional translation has become increasingly important. The Panda Books Series (PBS) is an exemplar of institutional translation that translates and disseminates Chinese literature to other parts of the world. The present study provides a multimodal analysis of the book covers in the PBS in terms of their visual meanings and intersemiotic relations. Analysis of 129 front covers and 64 back covers reveals that a positive and non-threatening image of China is constructed by characterizing China as a gender-equal, peaceful, and rural country, while a modern and approachable image of Chinese writers is created to highlight the authorship. The verbal and visual modes that are present on the covers often repeat the same information to reinforce positive images of China and Chinese writers, which is instrumental in realizing the goal of the PBS. It is argued that the agency of subjects at different levels, that is, the political ideology of the state, the governmental institutions involved, and translators and editors, all combine to shape the book cover designs of the PBS. This study contributes to research on institutional translation, especially state translation program, from a multimodal perspective.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%