Author ｜
Chen Shuo-win
Abstract ｜
This paper presents an analysis of the translation and formation history of a keyword in contemporary society—“Modern” (xiandai), which means new and current, in the Chinese cultural historical context.According to Lawrence Venuti (1994), translation, as it accumulated,can replace the original and create aspiration for the readers. By sparking their imagination, the translation not only indigenizes foreign cultures, but also simultaneously invokes the construction of native cultural identity in the receiving country. In this regard, I argue that as a translated word,the conceptual history of “modern,” can be examined under a historical framework that people take history as a linear process, and therefore“modern” signifies a new and ongoing future that China is heading to. It provides and reflects a cultural precondition not only of the idea of modern in nowadays, but also the emergence of the ideas that China could be anew, progressive, and fresh country after catching up with the times.
keywords ｜
modern, xiandai, translation, modernity