Leo Tak-hung Chan. Western Theory in East Asian Contexts

In the field of translation studies there are still several ongoing debates about the meaning of translation itself and its role in crossing different cultural spheres. In particular, despite various forms of translation being practiced among different languages, there has been little contribution in English that devotes scholarly attention to practices of translation outside the anglophone world. Inserting itself in the broader discussion about the categorization of texts as translations, adaptations, or imitations, Leo Tak-hung Chan’s book Western Theory in East Asian Contexts. Translation and Transtextual Rewriting (2020) proves to be an essential addition to the ongoing debates. In particular, focusing on examples of the abovementioned practices in the cultural exchanges between China and Japan allows for an important new perspective in the field. The book aims at re-evaluating non-western practices of adaptation and imitation – often overlooked by critics in the western context – and tries to put them in conversation with such practices and theories in the West.