A New Extraordinary Dream: A Study of Late-Qing Foreign Fiction Translations from the Perspective of Titology

Abstract

In the early stage of the introduction of foreign fiction to Chinese readers, newspapers and magazines played a pioneering role in the development of the discourse on the social role of fiction in modern Chinese society. This is particularly true for Shanghai newspaper Shenbao, which introduced a large number of Western novels, trying to fuel readers’ curiosity while avoiding any possible discomfort caused by foreignising or destabilising content. As a privileged type of paratext and the first element with whom readers came into contact, titles and their translations were key elements for promoting the new literary section and increasing daily sales. By adopting the theoretical framework of titrologie (titology) – the study of book titles – and of its resulting branch of translation studies, this article analyses the most common strategies adopted in titles translation by Shenbao editors through the analysis of a selection of early novels and short stories translated in the Chinese press. Marketing and aesthetic purposes, the phenomenon of intertexuality, and readers’ literary taste that influenced such choices will also be explored. The purpose of this study is not to apply a Western theoretical approach to describe the Shenbao initiative, but rather to show how editors’ choices were the result of a precise cultural, commercial and social strategy. The long-term effects of such an approach resulted in the rise of a new sensibility toward the genre of xiaoshuo.