In Western academic circles，English translation of modern and contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review、Research and dissemination have received more and more attention in recent years，Attracted many fans of Chinese bet365 sportsbook review、A passionate translator and researcher of Chinese literature。American Sinologist、Nick Admussen, associate professor of the Department of Asia at Cornell University, is one of them。He is mainly engaged in the research and translation of modern and contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review，Amateur writing of English bet365 sportsbook review and prose，The author of "Recite and Refuse: Contemporary Chinese Prose bet365 sportsbook review" and other works，Has translated the bet365 sportsbook review collection "Floral Mutter" by contemporary Chinese poet Mushi Shi。Recent，Professor Wang Baorong of the School of Foreign Languages ​​of Hangzhou Normal University had a dialogue with An Minxuan。An Minxuan focused on reviewing how he embarked on the path of bet365 sportsbook review research and translation，Introducing the translation of "The Whisper of the Flowers"、edit、Publication and Acceptance Status，Shared his translation of modern and contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review in the United States、Insights on Research and Dissemination。

　　Influenced by family members, I embarked on the path of studying Chinese bet365 sportsbook review

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:Please tell us why you chose bet365 sportsbook review as your research major and direction in college。

　　An bet365 sportsbook review:I think this is inseparable from the family environment。My father was a professor of French literature at Washington University in St. Louis，Mainly research French literary journals in the early 20th century，Written a book on the Irish writer Samuel Beckett。He died of leukemia when I was young，Therefore，To me he is a "distant influence"，An existence that is invisible but can be felt at all times。My mother raised me，She has a more direct influence on me，She had hoped that I would attend Georgetown University (also translated as "Georgetown University") to major in political science。But I ended up following in my late father’s footsteps，Become a researcher of foreign literature。Due to the nature of my father’s work，My family often lived abroad before I was born，Lived in France in the 1960s and 1970s，So my family all speak French。My brothers and sisters have all traveled abroad、Lived for many years，So I grew up thinking bet365 sportsbook review was normal to leave St. Louis and live somewhere else。At the same time，I’ve never been very fond of French，Because the inflection of French verbs is very complicated，There are many rules for spelling words。

When I was in high school, I took a course called "History of the bet365 sportsbook review Empire"，I like it very much，So I started to learn bet365 sportsbook review when I was in college。Later I learned that bet365 sportsbook review is much more difficult to learn than French！I can persist in learning，I also experienced a "chill to the bone"。My biggest motivation for learning bet365 sportsbook review is，Learned bet365 sportsbook review，I can travel to China，Converse freely with bet365 sportsbook review people，Participate in various daily activities and related academic exchanges in China。At the same time，Because I grew up in a semi-religious family，I like China’s “atheism” and the blending of different religious cultures。I also like the fireworks and "market culture" of bet365 sportsbook review cities。With the improvement of bet365 sportsbook review level，I have become more and more interested in bet365 sportsbook review culture。

　bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:How did you embark on the path of research and translation of modern and contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review？Why I have a soft spot for bet365 sportsbook review？

　An bet365 sportsbook review:I wrote my first poem when I was 12 years old。Become a poet、It has always been my dream to engage in bet365 sportsbook review research。For me，This is due to interest。I have considered Can Xue’s novels or anonymous literature as a doctoral thesis topic，Finally out of love for bet365 sportsbook review，Choose modern and contemporary Chinese prose bet365 sportsbook review that was less studied in American academic circles at that time。

In order to obtain first-hand information、Close contact with Chinese poets，I visited China many times during my PhD studies。2009，I met the poet Du Shi in Chengdu，This is where our friendship and cooperation begins。Same year，I attended Zang Di’s bet365 sportsbook review course at the Chinese Department of Peking University，I feel the strong influence of Peking University、Pioneering cultural atmosphere of bet365 sportsbook review，I still remember reciting with the participants、The scene of appreciating bet365 sportsbook review。At Peking University，Be able to read unique and beautiful poems anywhere，Amateur bet365 sportsbook review lover can transform into a professional poet，Already famous poets will continue to try to create new online poems，And appreciate the works of new poets。bet365 sportsbook review classes in American universities lack this kind of scene。Although I could barely understand those poems at that time，Can barely understand the Chinese conversation，But I think it feels great to be in the "interstitial" space。The “gap” space generated by bet365 sportsbook review and the open humility，Exactly why I like bet365 sportsbook review and bet365 sportsbook review culture。I don’t think bet365 sportsbook review is the crown of literature or better than novels。I like bet365 sportsbook review because anyone can write bet365 sportsbook review、Read bet365 sportsbook review，Write a poem in just a moment，And everyone can share。The openness of bet365 sportsbook review allows me to be a reader at the same time、Author、Translator、The reviewer’s identity participates in the production of bet365 sportsbook review value。

I published my first academic paper in 2009，Discussing Lu Xun's prose collection "Wild Grass"；2014，I ​​guest edited the special issue "Lu Xun's "Wild Grass"" in the "Journal of Modern Chinese Literature" sponsored by Lingnan University in Hong Kong，This started my research on modern and contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review。As for translation，Originally due to the need for doctoral thesis research，I translated some contemporary Chinese prose poems。Since 2013，The dumb stone poems I translated have been published in English magazines，Collected in 2020 as "Whispers of Flowers"，Published by Zephyr Press。

　"The May Fourth bet365 sportsbook review Breakthrough in Form Created the Free Verse Tradition

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:"Recitation and Dictionary Performance: Contemporary Chinese Prose bet365 sportsbook review" is based on the revision of your doctoral thesis，Highly praised by peers and experts。Dutch sinologist Michel Hockx called it "a masterpiece that revised the development view of Chinese prose bet365 sportsbook review in the 20th century"；Chinese scholar Wang Pu commented on it，“Analyze the creation of prose poems as a process of ‘recitation’ and ‘performance’，Constructed a new theory that can better interpret Chinese prose bet365 sportsbook review"；American sinologist Todd Foley praised “the translation in the book is exquisitely crafted，Excellent”。In your book, you proposed that contemporary Chinese prose bet365 sportsbook review began in the 1950s，Why do you raise this point，Wouldn’t this cut off its connection with the May Fourth Movement tradition and Lu Xun’s “Wild Grass”？

　　An bet365 sportsbook review:This book is indeed based on my PhD thesis。Disappointingly，The publisher asked me to delete the chapter on Zou Yuehan’s prose poems and most of the original bet365 sportsbook review poems involved in the book。a few years ago，I commissioned a friend to translate this book into bet365 sportsbook review，Currently completed，It can be published after confirming the publishing house。

I put forward the above views on literary history，It’s not that the May Fourth literary creation had no influence on prose bet365 sportsbook review or that no one read Lu Xun’s prose bet365 sportsbook review after the 1960s，But it is believed that the genre of prose bet365 sportsbook review did not exist in a coherent way in China in the 1920s and 1930s。Those works that were called "prose poems" at that time were closer to what is called "blank bet365 sportsbook review" today。Prose writing was the norm in the early 20th century - for example, Lu Xun blended short stories and limericks into poetic prose in "Weeds"，Another example is that Liu Bannong and Zhou Zuoren regard prose bet365 sportsbook review as a kind of broken or unruly bet365 sportsbook review-no longer in line with the current standards of prose bet365 sportsbook review。If anyone wants to understand a 20th or 21st century Chinese poem (including prose bet365 sportsbook review)，He can trace his "May 4th" ideological legacy。But if you want to understand the genre of contemporary Chinese prose bet365 sportsbook review，Then we have to translate Tagore’s prose poems and Ke Lan from Bing Xin in the 1950s、Start with Guo Feng’s creation of “orthodox” prose poems，And Lu Xun's "Wild Grass" is not very relevant。I think，Literature moves forward in a non-linear way，Literary history cannot be understood with linear thinking。But I want to say，The formal breakthrough of "May Fourth" bet365 sportsbook review was mainly the creation of a tradition of free verse that was different from prose。The self-contained traditional concepts of "free verse" and "prose" are necessary prerequisites for the formation of prose bet365 sportsbook review，Therefore, the genre of prose bet365 sportsbook review will not appear until free verse and prose are fully mature。

　　Multiple translations of "bet365 sportsbook review" have their own characteristics

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:You have done a lot of research on "Weeds"，And translated several of them。In your article "Foreword: Translation of the Book Title "Weeds"" published in 2014, you said: "From the perspective of the translator，It may be better to translate the name of the bet365 sportsbook review collection as Weeds。”What’s the reason？"Weeds" currently has three full English translations: Yang Xianyi、Wild Grass translated by Gladys、Weeds translated by Matt Turner and Eileen J. Cheng & Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk。How do you rate them？How is "Weeds" received in the English-speaking world？Have you ever thought about retranslating "Weeds"？

　An bet365 sportsbook review:As understood，Dutch sinologist Lloyd Haft first proposed using Weeds to translate the title of the book "Weeds" in 2000。2012，At a conference sponsored by the American Association for Asian Studies，He Maixiao expressed to me that this bet365 sportsbook review is advisable。I think，Compared to Wild Grass，Weeds gives a darker tone，Word meaning is more faithful、More specific and even more relevant，And it has two meanings: "weed" and "mourning clothes"，More in line with Lu Xun’s fascination with funerals in "Weeds"，So it’s a good choice。Different choices will bring different results，Wild Grass has been used as the English bet365 sportsbook review of "Wild Grass" for nearly a hundred years，There is some value in keeping it。

I think，Yang’s translation is suitable for general readers；Turner’s translation is the most creative，The most interesting thing to read；Zheng’s translation is suitable for scholars and other readers who want to interpret the theme of "Weeds"。It is a good thing that there are different translations of "Weeds"，Therefore I sincerely recommend that everyone read these three English translations at the same time。Turner is a freelance writer and translator，Living in New York。As far as I know，He really loves "Weeds"，To understand、Translated the original work and determined to learn Chinese well。Translation has different qualities of fidelity，Spiritual loyalty is often not taken seriously，It is this kind of fidelity that Turner pursues。"Weeds" is a collection of experimental poems，Strange thoughts，Novel form，Exceptionally difficult to translate，It is possible that all the words in the original work are translated correctly，Readers cannot see that this is a pioneering work。Turner himself also writes experimental bet365 sportsbook review，I think he wanted to try to give the translation the same feeling he had when reading the original work，He read the multiple meanings and uniqueness of the original work，And these are things that Yang’s translation does not value。By the way，Seaweed Salad Editions, which publishes the Turner translation, is a small experimental press，Only publish books they come up with，Not too considerate of commercial and academic aspects。I like Zheng’s translation，It attempts to establish a new translation standard that can replace Yang's translation，And easy to find in bookstores (not so with the Turner translation)。Zheng Ailing combined "Wild Grass" and "Morning Flowers Picked at Dusk" into one volume and published it，Especially convenient for English readers，I think she translated "Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" quite well。

About the reception of "Weeds" in the English-speaking world，I think it is the same as most ancient and contemporary bet365 sportsbook review literary works，Not many readers have read the translation of "Weeds" yet。The formation of a readership still depends on the unremitting efforts of translators and reviewers。In other words，Only He Maixiao、Zheng Ailing、Professional readers like Turner are reading "Weeds"。These people either understand bet365 sportsbook review，Or have had direct contact with the original work before。I have translated a very short "Tombstone Essay"，I also thought about translating a few more articles，But many excellent translators have translated "Weeds"，At the same time, there are many literary works worthy of translation that have not been translated or are under-translated。Re-translation of a masterpiece is to further explore and experiment on the basis of the previous translation，Retranslation of "Weeds" is necessary，But I am not sure whether I will translate "Weeds" or publish a new translation。

　bet365 sportsbook review out of love or research needs

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:Mu Shi’s poems are not particularly famous in China，Why do you want to translate？What is unique about his bet365 sportsbook review？Can you please introduce the translation of "The Whisper of Flowers"、edit、Publication and Acceptance Status？

　　An bet365 sportsbook review:around 2008，For the purpose of writing a doctoral thesis，I am conducting relevant research in Sichuan，During this period, I read Mushi Shi’s poems，I fell in love with it when I first read it。I read "Obscure Poems" at that time，It is a sonnet composed of couplets，Multiple puns。I not only like the beauty of the sound of his words，And I found this poem to be complex in thought、Humble and restrained、Witty and interesting。The important thing is that I feel the translation in the poem，I have the urge to translate it into English immediately。2009，Introduced by Zang Di，I met dumb stone in Chengdu，Found him easy and enjoyable to work with。Later，I decided to translate and publish a collection of dumb stone poems，Because I know he will fully support me，In the long and difficult translation process，His wisdom and friendship will bring me happiness。Poets are generally creative，But there are not many poets who can match the imagination of Mute Stone。He constantly creates new and wonderful bet365 sportsbook review forms、Scenario、Language。Sometimes a poet writes about the feelings we have had，Dumb Stone also does this，But more often than not，He uses bet365 sportsbook review to record feelings that others have never felt or feelings that we don’t know we have。I think，This is the unique feature of dumb stone bet365 sportsbook review。

About the difficulty of translating Du Shi’s poems and my translation principles and strategies，You can refer to Li Hongman’s interview with me originally published in the 3rd issue of "Oriental Translation" in 2019。What should be added here is the difficulty of understanding the original poem，Because there are not many reviews of truly successful dumb stone poems，Lack of reference materials when translating，At the same time, like other contemporary bet365 sportsbook review avant-garde poets，To accurately interpret the subtle meaning of dumb stone’s poems，Not only is it time consuming，Still need patience。Fortunately, I can ask dumb stone directly for advice。Discuss his poems every time we meet，I even want to make sure I understand what he wants to say in the poem。He is always very patient，Discuss with me one song after another。I inevitably choose the wrong English words or sentence structure during the first translation，Sometimes due to complex syntax or difficult concepts，I only know a little about the original poem，Just use the same complicated and difficult English to deal with it。After face-to-face discussion with dumb stone，I often feel that I understand his poems。

I originally planned to submit "The Whisper of Flowers" to West Wind Publishing House for publication，Because in 2011 it published Zhai Yongming’s bet365 sportsbook review collection "The Changing Room" (The Changing Room) translated by Andrea Lingenfelter，Good response。This is a small independent publishing house，Established in 1980，Famous for publishing contemporary translated bet365 sportsbook review and prose。Me to the poet、The translator and executive editor of the agency, Christopher Mattison, has long been famous，I will write an email to him after the translation is completed，Meet to meet。He likes this translation，And put forward good suggestions on the selection of articles。We immediately signed a publishing contract，The publisher helped me successfully apply for the 2017 PEN America Heim Translation Fund，After that I started to revise the translation。The whole process took a long time，Part of the reason is that the publisher initially hired a very experienced translator to serve as a copy editor。I didn’t expect him to say “I don’t want to do it anymore” before he even read 15% of the manuscript。The reason why he is angry，I think half of it is because there are errors in my translation，The other half is because he is not sure about the original text。This is a collection of poems in Chinese and English，When editing, you have to consider the "niche" readers who understand both Chinese and English，It took me a long time to solve this problem。Several poems were published in magazines before being included in Whispers of Flowers。These magazines have highly bilingual editors，They read these poems，But failed to find the problem in the translation。So I had to read the entire manuscript line by line，Rethink and translate，Try to make the translation more accurate。My colleagues、Teng Qiuyun, a senior lecturer in the Department of Asia at Cornell University, has extensive experience in bet365 sportsbook review editing，Attention to details，Meticulous。She read through the manuscript patiently，It adds a lot of color to this collection of translated poems。

"The Whisper of the Flowers" was well received in the United States。Hundreds of copies of the book have been sold so far，Collected by 33 university libraries around the world；The "Imaginary Poems" and "Obscure Poems" in the collection were selected for archive by the bet365 sportsbook review Foundation of America，"Quiet Lake in the Mountains" was selected as the best contemporary bet365 sportsbook review by the popular literary website "Daily bet365 sportsbook review"；Book reviews published in "Asian Book Review", "Paris Review", etc.。Polish scholar Joanna Krenz once translated Mute Stone’s poems into Polish，Her long review published in the Hong Kong literary magazine "Tea" is accurate and professional。

　　bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:You have also translated the works of other bet365 sportsbook review poets，Including "The Hanging Coffin" by Ouyang Jianghe and Zang Di、Poems of Genzi (formerly known as Yue Zhong)。Are there any new translations recently？What are your translation selection criteria？

　An bet365 sportsbook review:I often translate poems out of research needs or requests from colleagues。Recently writing a paper，I translated Wang Pu、Ni Zhange、Yang Xiaobin、Some poems by Jiang Tao。I analyzed the works of the first three poets in the article "Poetic Turn: Writing Research on bet365 sportsbook review Culture Between Empires" published in the 2023 issue 1 of the English academic journal "Prism: Theory and Modern bet365 sportsbook review Literature"，The paper dedicated to Jiang Tao's "My Baghdad" was included in the collection of papers，To be published by Amsterdam University Press, Netherlands。I am particularly pleased to accept an invitation from Michelle Yeh, Professor of the Department of East Asian Languages ​​and Cultures at the University of California, Davis，In 2023, at her invitation, I translated several poems from Taiwan, China and Zhang Zao’s poems。She is very discerning，Generosity，And the ones she selected are all excellent poets，So I don’t mind doing “propositional translation” for her。But usually I translate poems that I really like or that are relevant to my research。

Chinese contemporary bet365 sportsbook review translators and translators are active and productive

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:Western translation of ancient Chinese poems and contemporary novels、Research is more active，Translation、Research on contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review is relatively insufficient，What do you think is the reason？

　An bet365 sportsbook review:Chinese literary historians like to associate genres with historical periods，Like Tang bet365 sportsbook review and Song lyrics、Yuan Qu、Novel of Ming and Qing Dynasties、"May Fourth" short stories, etc.，But the closer it is to now，The connection between the two becomes even more unclear。Today’s era，It can be said that genre novels (such as martial arts、Science fiction) or TV series become popular，But it is definitely not the era of bet365 sportsbook review。Therefore，Those who want to describe or embody Chinese characteristics，And people interested in politics，They will turn their attention to the literary forms they think Chinese people value most。Classical Chinese works are considered to represent "pure" Chinese culture without Western influence，Thus attractive to these people。If Westerners today want to specialize in studying Chinese culture，I usually start with 20th century novels，Then dabble in a little contemporary film or genre fiction，Finally focus on Chinese classical literature。I think，This is a good thing for the study of contemporary bet365 sportsbook review，We can ask and answer non-country related questions，Focus on ideas and emotions that cannot simply be classified as “Chinese literature”。

　bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:Today’s English-speaking world，Which scholars are translating、The most active in researching contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review？

　　An bet365 sportsbook review:Currently，There is a group of particularly excellent translators、Scholar、Thinkers are active in this field。This academic community is not big，But its members - including Maghiel van Crevel、Ximi、Lucas Klein、Song Zijiang、Heather Inwood，Wait--all active and productive，Sincere，I look forward to maintaining communication and cooperation with them。These scholars are good at research and bet365 sportsbook review，Jennifer Feeley、Eleanor Goodman、Ling Jingyi、Austin Woerner、Steve Bradbury and others are famous for their bet365 sportsbook review。

bet365 sportsbook review Baorong:Poets writing in Chinese want to gain international fame，Translation is important，The publisher is equally important。So far, English translations of contemporary Chinese bet365 sportsbook review have mostly come from small independent publishing houses or university presses，Why？Do you think it is possible for commercial publishers to get involved？

　An bet365 sportsbook review:bet365 sportsbook review is mainly transmitted on a one-to-one basis，causing commercial publishers to stay away from it。The book market pursues maximization of economic value，Once the competition becomes more intense，Publishers tend to publish classics、Generally accepted、Books with publication support。bet365 sportsbook review is not liked by the commercial publishing world，This actually reflects the true value of bet365 sportsbook review from one aspect。Small Press、Academic Press、Self-publishers and the Internet disseminate through one-on-one methods，Thus suitable for bet365 sportsbook review。

(The author is an associate professor bet365 sportsbook review Department of Asia, Cornell University；Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Hangzhou Normal University)