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Understanding and Translating Chinese Martial Arts pp 49–70Cite as

A Survey and Critique of English Translations of Jin Yong’s Wuxia Fictions

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Abstract

Jin Yong is widely celebrated as the most renowned maestro of wuxia fiction whose works have become the common language of Chinese around the world. His fictions, originally serialized in newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong from 1955 to 1972, continue to be reissued and adapted for films, TV series, and comic books. This chapter offers a comprehensive survey of existing English translations of Jin Yong’s fictions and relevant research on these translations. It starts with a brief introduction to wuxia as a literary genre, Jin Yong’s life trajectory, and his fictions, followed by an evaluation of existing English translations, printed or otherwise, of these stories. Next, a survey and critique of research of these translations are presented, after which research lacunas are detected, and a proposal for future research is put forward. This chapter evaluates relevant studies published in English and Chinese respectively since they differ thematically to a noticeable extent. Finally, it is proposed that future research should pay more attention to online fan translations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The source of the Chinese is Han (2010). 韩非子 [Han Feizi]. Huaping Gao, Qizhou Wang, and Sanxi Zhang (trans. & eds.), p. 709. The translation is by Burton Watson in Han Feizi: Basic Writings, p. 106.

  2. 2.

    The translation is by Burton Watson in Records of the Grand Historian, p. 410.

  3. 3.

    The citation is from Sima (2010). 史记 [Records of the Grand Historian]. (Zhaoqi Han trans.), p. 779 (electronic version).

  4. 4.

    Serialized in New Evening Post in 1954, this is regarded as the first “new school” wuxia fiction.

  5. 5.

    There are different categorizations: some would treat Baima Xiao Xifeng (“白马啸西风”) and Yuanyang Dao (“鸳鸯刀”) as short stories; we treat them as novellas. Jin Yong published Yueyun “月云”, an autobiographical prose style short story, in Harvest Magazine in 2000. Since it is not a wuxia story, it is not included in our discussion.

  6. 6.

    They were downloaded from WuxiaSociety https://wuxiasociety.com/translations/.

  7. 7.

    Xianxia (仙侠, literally means “Immortal Heroes”) are fictional stories featuring magic, demons, ghosts, immortals, and a great deal of Chinese folklore/mythology. Protagonists (usually) attempt to cultivate to Immortality, seeking eternal life and the pinnacle of strength. This definition is provided by WuxiaWorld. Retrieved on May 20, 2021, from https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/general-glossary-of-terms.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based on my Ph.D. thesis at Lingnan University of Hong Kong. I am particularly grateful to Professor Rachel Lung and Professor Darryl Sterk for their valuable suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of English Studies, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing, China

    Hong Diao

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  1. Hong Diao
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Correspondence to Hong Diao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Full Professor of College of Foreign Languages, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

    Dan Jiao

  2. Professor of Translation Studies, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao

    Defeng Li

  3. School of Foreign Languages, Henan University of Technology, Henan, China

    Lingwei Meng

  4. Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC), Zhuhai, China

    Yuhong Peng

Appendix 1. Jin Yong’s Fictions

Appendix 1. Jin Yong’s Fictions

Chinese title

English title

Date of publication

Newspaper and Magazine

书剑恩仇录

The Book and the Sword

8 February 1955—5 September 1956

New Evening Post

碧血剑

Sword Stained with Royal Blood

2 January 1956—31 December 1956

Hong Kong Commercial Daily

射雕英雄传

Legend of the Condor Heroes

1 January 1957—19 May 1959

Hong Kong Commercial Daily

雪山飞狐

Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain

9 February 1959—18 June 1959

New Evening Post

神雕侠侣

The Return of the Condor Heroes

6 June 1959—8 July 1961

Ming Pao

飞狐外传

The Sword of Many Lovers

11 January 1960—6 April 1962

Wuxia and History

白马啸西风

Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse

16 October 1961—10 January 1962

Ming Pao

鸳鸯刀

Blade-dance of the Two Lovers

1 May 1961—31 May 1961

Ming Pao

倚天屠龙记

Heaven Sword, Dragon Saber

6 July 1961—2 September 1963

Ming Pao

连城诀

A Deadly Secret

1963 (exact date unknown)

Southeast Asia Weekly

天龙八部

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

3 September 1963—27 May 1966

Ming Pao

侠客行

Ode to Gallantry

11 June 1965—19 April 1967

Ming Pao

笑傲江湖

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

20 April 1967—12 October 1969

Ming Pao

鹿鼎记

The Deer and the Cauldron

26 October 1969—23 September 1972

Ming Pao

越女剑

Sword of the Yue Maiden

1 January 1970—31 January 1970

Ming Pao Evening Supplement

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Diao, H. (2023). A Survey and Critique of English Translations of Jin Yong’s Wuxia Fictions. In: Jiao, D., Li, D., Meng, L., Peng, Y. (eds) Understanding and Translating Chinese Martial Arts. New Frontiers in Translation Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8425-9_4

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