Cross-Cultural Encounters in Modern and Premodern China

This book presents an essential contribution to approaches in the studies of film, literature, performance, translation, and other art forms within the Chinese cultural tradition, examining East-West cultural exchange and providing related intertextual dialogue. The assessment of cultural exchange in the East-West context involves the original source, the adapted text, and other enigmatic extras incurred during the process. It aims to evaluate the linkage among, but not limited to, literature, film, music, art, and performance. The sections unpack how canonical texts can be read anew in modern society; how ideas can be circulated around the world based on translation, adaptation, and reinvention; and how the global networks of circulation can facilitate cultural interaction and intervention. The authors engage discussions on longstanding debates and controversies relating to Chinese literature as world literature; reconciliations of cultural identity under the contemporary waves ofglobalization and glocalization; Chinese-Western film adaptations and their impact upon cinematic experiences; an understanding of gendered roles and voices under the social gaze; and the translation of texts from intertextual angles. An enriching intellectual, intertextual resource for researchers and students enthusiastic about the adaptation and transformation process of different genres, this book is a must-have for Sinophiles. It will appeal to world historians interested in the global networks of connectivity, scholars researching cultural life in East Asia, and China specialists interested in cultural studies, translation, and film, media and literary studies.

Kelly Kar Yue CHAN completed her undergraduate degree and her Master’s degree both in the discipline of Translation and Interpretation at the City University of Hong Kong. She completed her Ph.D. in Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. She is currently Associate Professor in language and translation at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses on culture and translation, and literary translation. Her research interests include literary translation, women’s studies in classical Chinese society, classical Chinese literature (poetry), and translation of Cantonese opera.

Chi Sum Garfield LAU obtained her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from Hong Kong Baptist University. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Metropolitan University. She is responsible for courses in English Language and Literature at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Herareas of interest include Modernism, Psychoanalytic Criticism and Comparative Studies.