Book Reviews of/and Translation in Periodicals : With Reference to World Today During the Early 1950s: 期刊中的書評與翻譯 : 以 1950 年代初期《今日世界》為例

This study examines the complex interplay between translation practices and book reviews in Cold War Hong Kong through an analysis of World Today, a periodical funded by the United States Information Service (USIS) during the early 1950s. Drawing on archival research and textual analysis, this article reveals how book reviews functioned as sophisticated instruments of cultural diplomacy. The book review section of World Today magazine exhibited extensive diversity in its choice of materials and reflected various reviewers’ attempts to achieve political propaganda goals through multiple approaches, including shaping negative images of Soviet and Chinese Communist Parties, highlighting American democratic values, explaining the consequences of Communist Party policies, and reinterpreting Soviet leadership figures, and so forth. The reviews expressed political positions through both direct criticism and metaphorical expression. The research demonstrates that reviews operated both independently and in conjunction with translations to serve specific ideological purposes.

本研究透過分析 1950 年代初期由美國新聞處資助的期刊《今日世界》，探討冷戰時期香港地區翻譯實踐與書評之間的複雜互動關係。基於檔案研究和文本分析，本文揭示了書評作為文化外交工具的運作機制。《今日世界》雜誌的書評欄目在選材上呈現廣泛的多樣性，反映了不同評論者試圖透過多種途徑實現政治宣傳的目標，包括塑造蘇聯和中國共產黨的負面形象、突出美國民主價值觀、闡釋共產黨政策的後果，以及重新詮釋蘇聯領導人形象等。這些書評透過直接批評和隱喻表達兩種方式來傳達政治立場。研究表明，書評作為意識形態運作的一環，與不同類型的翻譯實踐構成了動態複雜的機制，共同服務於贊助者的意識形態目標。