Contemporary Chinese Fiction In German:Literary Translation Flow From Chinese To German1990-2009

Chinese-German fiction translation has until recently only occupied a minor role in the German literary system. However, events such as the Frankfurt Book Fair in2009and the Nobel Prize for Mo Yan in2012have led to renewed attention towards Chinese literature and Chinese fiction.A sociological approach to translation studies must involve more than only one translation or one author. One has to look at how systems interact. Translation as a system interacts with other systems and translation strategies on the extra-, macro-and micro-textual level are part of the translation system. Translation as a sub-system then plays an important role in the German literary system. Although less than1%of all translations in German are from Chinese, there is an increasing number of Chinese fiction novels published in German. They act as mediators between two different cultural systems.Using data from the UNESCO Index translationum this paper addresses the situation of translated Chinese literature and contemporary Chinese fiction on the German book market. Data on how many Chinese works have been translated is analyzed and factors which play an important role in the selection of works are discussed. Furthermore, a case study on the two most successful Chinese writers in German, Mo Yan and Hong Ying, is conducted to see whether the general factors for the selection are reflected in the translations itself. The study shows that historical, feminist literature, everyday life of ordinary people and biographical elements are the main selection criteria. Works critical towards China tend to be translated more often and the foreign element is emphasized. This is reflected in the case study on the translations’extra-and partly macro-textual level. However, in the text itself, generalizations and domesticating strategies are commonly used, and therefore do not match the general selection strategies.