Canonisation through Translation and Retranslation : Digital Humanities Analyses of the English Translations of Journey to the West

Binhua WANG; Yuan PING

doi:10.4324/9781003489535

Canonisation through Translation and Retranslation : Digital Humanities Analyses of the English Translations of Journey to the West

Binhua WANG
, Yuan PING

Department of Translation

Research output: Scholarly Books | Reports | Literary Works › Book (Author) › peer-review

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the various translations of Journey to the West, including three abridged versions by Arthur Waley, Anthony Yu and Julia Lovell. It examines the translation and retranslation of Journey to the West as a typical case of how literature can be canonised through translation. It also explores how Lovell’s retranslation in the contemporary context differs from Waley’s and Yu’s translations, and why Penguin would include two translations of the same Chinese novel in Penguin Classics.

The book provides not only a refreshed understanding of the classic work of literature Journey to the West and its translations, but also new insights into how books can be canonised through translation and retranslation in other languages and cultures. The study utilises a mixed-method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative methods featured by digital humanities based on large-scale corpora, examining style and genre through comparative analyses of the translations and retranslations.

This book is of interest to students and scholars in translation studies, language and literature studies, digital humanities, and Chinese studies.

Original language	English
Publisher	Routledge
Number of pages	184
ISBN (Electronic)	9781003489535
ISBN (Print)	9781032788555, 9781032788593
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003489535
Publication status	Published - Mar 2026

Publication series

Name	Routledge Advances in Translation and Interpretation Studies
Publisher	Routledge

Bibliographical note

Portions of this monograph draw upon previously published work. Chapter 3 has been adapted and expanded from: Wang, Binhua. 2021. ⟪西游记⟫韦利英译本的经典化——中国文学外译经典化案例探析 [Canonisation of Arthur Waley’s translation of Xiyou Ji: A case study on canonisation of translated Chinese literature]. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies on Translation and Interpreting 1: 87–99. Chapter 4 incorporates material adapted from: Ping, Yuan and Binhua Wang. 2024. “Retranslated Chinese classical canon Journey to the West: A stylometric comparison between Julia Lovell’s retranslation and Arthur Waley’s translation.” Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 39 (1): 308–320.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Binhua Wang and Yuan Ping.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [grant number 24BYY102].

Access to Document

10.4324/9781003489535

Cite this

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Canonisation through Translation and Retranslation : Digital Humanities Analyses of the English Translations of Journey to the West

Abstract

Publication series

Bibliographical note

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Retranslated Chinese classical canon Journey to the West: a stylometric comparison between Julia Lovell's retranslation and Arthur Waley's translation

《西游记》韦利英译本的经典化: 中国文学外译经典化案例探析

Cite this