Fu Lei on Translation

Author: Fu Min
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Fu Lei, with his rigorous style, extensive knowledge, and lifelong dedication, has provided the literary world with over a dozen world-class works, contributing significantly to the prosperity of socialist literature in China. Fu's translations are characterized by their vividness, high achievement, and wide influence, forming a distinct translation school. In literary creation, different artistic styles can develop freely; in literary translation, various translation styles can also shine in their own right. After the liberation, the field of foreign literature translation saw considerable development, but translation theory and criticism did not receive corresponding attention. Following the downfall of the "Gang of Four," as the literary field flourished increasingly, literary translation was bound to experience new developments. With the continuous publication of translated works, engaging in translation criticism and exploring translation theory, while encouraging various translation schools to showcase their artistic strengths, will undoubtedly enhance translation quality and promote the flourishing of literary translation. Fu Lei's translations are just one school in the translation world, like a single flower among a hundred. Only when different translation schools bloom and compete can we create a vibrant scene of diverse flowers flourishing in the translation garden. Works with established reputation and influence, including those translated by Fu Lei, can be published in multiple versions, giving readers the freedom to choose and enjoy.
Fu Lei (1908-1966) was a renowned Chinese literary translator and literary critic. Throughout his life, he produced a wealth of translations, characterized by their vividness, fluency, rich vocabulary, and masterful use of color. His translated works span thirty-four volumes, including major works such as the Nobel Prize-winning epic John Christopher by Roman Rolland, biographies like Beethoven: His Life and Work, Michelangelo: His Life and Work, and Tolstoy: His Life and Work, Voltaire's Candide, The Sorcerer, and Zadig, Mérimée's Carmen and Hérodiade,'s Philosophy of Art, Balzac's Old Goriot, Eugénie Grandet, Uncle Bonaparte, Madame Bovary, The Colonel's Honor, The Water Lily, Ysabel Mirou?t, The Curé of Tours, Pere Goriot, and Lost Illusions. His total translated output amounts to approximately five million words. This book collects his scattered "Words on Translation" and excerpts from fifty-six letters on translation, offering readers for reference and study. The preface to this book is an article titled Reflections on Reading Fu Lei's Translations by Luo Xinzhang, a leading expert on Fu Lei's translations. It is one of the earliest, most comprehensive, and concise reviews of my father's translations in China. The appendix includes important published articles on my father's translations to date, for further study and reference.