Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism
No.2, 2025
A Re-understanding of the Century-Long History of the Chinese Translation of Ancient Greek Tragedy
(Abstract)
Chen Rongnyu
The translation of foreign literature has played a significant role in shaping 20th-century Chinese literature. In particular, the translation and reception of Western classical literature in China is a history worth attention and its value calls for re-evaluation. First, unlike narrow focus on modern works, the cross-cultural translation of Western classical literature directly penetrates into the core of Western civilization, deepening our understanding and constructing a more comprehensive cross-cultural framework that integrates both ancient world and modern world. Second, the century-long history of the Chinese translation of ancient Greek tragedy reflects the epochal characteristics of conscious selection, acceptance, and transformation by Chinese translators since the May Fourth Movement. Over time, the eastward dissemination of Greek tragedy has deepened interaction and mutual transformation between Eastern and Western cultures. Third, translation serves as a bridge for communication between civilizations, promoting mutual learning as the philosophical foundation for the theory of civilizational communication. It also fosters the humanistic core of the human spirit, and the construction of a bidirectional model for civilizational exchange, as well as the pursuit of cultural diversity as both an achievement and a goal.