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Medio-translatology, proposed by Chinese scholar Tianzhen Xie, is a theory of translated literature that has been influential in the field of Chinese Translation Studies since its emergence in the 1990s. At the core of medio-translatology lies the concept of “Creative Treason,” which highlights the nature of translation. “Creative Treason” refers to the unavoidable deviation or departure of the translated text from the source text. This deviation takes place at the translating stage and is influenced by other stages in the broad sense of the translation process, including the initiation, production, dissemination and reception of the translated text. It is not only caused by the new meanings imposed on the translated text by various participants, such as the sponsor, the translator, the publisher, the mediator and the reader, but it is also influenced by the social and cultural factors of the target language context. More importantly, this deviation can be either intentional or unintentional, distinguishing the notion of “Creative Treason” from the concepts of translation as manipulation (Hermans 1985), rewriting (Lefevere 1992), adaptation (Krebs 2014) and imitation (Chan 2017). These concepts emphasise the intentional intervention during the translating stage to serve specific purposes, while “Creative Treason” occurs naturally or automatically throughout the whole translation process, intentional or otherwise.

Medio-translatology provides not only a fresh understanding of the nature of translation, but also sees translation as a political, cultural and literary activity in the target language society. In this sense, medio-translatology extends the boundary of the traditional Translation Studies (TS). Though traditional TS and medio-translatology share a similar viewpoint, there are some differences between the two concepts. Traditional TS are known for their “staggering interdisciplinary nature” (Shuttleworth and Cowie 2014: 184) and “engage in dialogues with literary studies, communication studies, linguistics and so on” (Valdeón 2017: 185). In contrast, medio-translatology, originating from comparative literature and being born in the Chinese context, argues that the foreign literature translated into a native language can be seen as part of the literature of the nation who speaks the native language, that the history of the literature of a nation can be structured to include the foreign literature translated into the native language[1] and that the incoming and outgoing translations[2] in a nation should be treated as different translation actions because they have different purposes, readerships and translation strategies. Medio-translatology “[…] bears resemblance to the descriptive and systemic approaches to translation studies; however, it is a notably Chinese theoretical framework for its understanding of translation and its responses to the issues in the Chinese literary scene” (p. 66). Medio-translatology pays less attention to linguistics-based translation problems, which are a crucial part of traditional TS.

Medio-translatology: Concepts and Applications is the first edited volume that introduces medio-translatology to the English-speaking world. It offers a window for international scholars to gain a better comprehension of contemporary Translation Studies in China.

This edited volume is organised into a three-part structure consisting of eleven chapters. Part I (Chapter 1) provides the background information needed for the reading and understanding of the other chapters. Tianzhen Xie spent over two decades developing and explaining this theory. Sadly, he suddenly passed away in 2020, just as he was getting set to further his work. To honour his academic contributions, the editors of the book invited 10 established scholars, all of whom are Xie’s close colleagues or former students, each to write a chapter to offer their perspectives on medio-translatology.

Part II (Chapter 2 to Chapter 7) discusses the development of medio-translatology. Chapter 2, authored by Qiyi Liao, highlights the potential impact of medio-translatology on China’s traditional approach to translation, which has been based on the principles of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness, and Elegance”[3] as set forth by Yan Fu, a prolific Chinese translator famous for introducing Western ideas of the late 19th century into China.

In Chapter 3, Ying Zhang presents Xie’s theory of the “language gap” and “time gap” in cultural exchanges between China and Western countries. The “time gap” refers to the fact that Western readers have only recently started taking an interest in reading Chinese literature, whereas Chinese readers have been consuming Western literature and culture for over a century. The “language gap” describes the current situation where Chinese people are more willing to learn English and to understand Western culture, but fewer Westerners are learning Chinese and are studying Chinese culture. Thus, Xie (2013) argues that when translating Chinese literature and culture into other languages (or doing outgoing translation), it is usually not wise to pursue “faithfulness” or “completeness” at the cost of misunderstanding by the target language readers. Instead, starting with abridged translations to make the ideas of the Chinese classics more accessible to Westerners may be a more appropriate way of doing outgoing translation in China.

Chapter 4 by Binghui Song gives two primary justifications for the emergence and heated discussion of medio-translatology at the end of the 20th century. For one thing, Chinese and international theories had more interactions against the background of the “culture turn,” and for another, foreign literature translated into Chinese was viewed as an integral component of Chinese national literature.

In Chapter 5, Mingjian Zha expounds on the nature and tenets of the comparative literature approach to Translation Studies. Comparative literature scholars are usually not interested in evaluating the translation quality or in establishing a certain translation standard when comparing the translated and the original text. Instead, they treat the translation as a literary work whether or not the translation is faithful or of high translation quality. Hence, they do not dismiss or reject an unfaithful translation. Rather, they look into whether the translation has literary or cultural value.

In Chapter 6, Shaobin He proposes that medio-translatology needs further delineations. Medio-translatology is still in the stage of theoretical exposition. Specific analytical tools have not yet been developed to effectively guide practical text translation. Moreover, medio-translatology can be expanded beyond the sphere of literary translation to include translation of other genres, since “Creative Treason” can occur both in literary and non-literary translations.

In Chapter 7, Hongjun Lan observes that many Chinese scholars consider “Creative Treason” as a means of translation, rather than the nature of translation, and that they think “Creative Treason” has betrayed their translation ethics of being loyal or faithful to the source text. This is the reason why so many controversies appeared in China concerning the understanding of the idea of “Creative Treason.”

Part III includes Chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11. The four chapters are case studies that explore some of the most significant translators and translation activities in Chinese history from the late Qing Dynasty to the People’s Republic of China. These discussions demonstrate how the theory of medio-translatology can be used to investigate the sociocultural factors behind translation activities.

Lin Shu[4] (1852-1924) is one of the most productive translators in China. He didn’t know any foreign languages. However, he collaborated with others who knew the source languages and systematically translated Western literature into Chinese. In Chapter 8, Xiaogang Liu points out that the success of Lin Shu’s translations lies in his special “Creative Treason” in translation, through which the East and the West could have effective communication in ideologies. In this way, Lin Shu constructed a bridge between traditional Confucian values and contemporary Western thoughts, facilitating the integration of foreign ideas into Chinese culture for his conservative Chinese audience.

To investigate the “Creative Treason” in non-literary translation and its cultural value, Chiyuan Zhuang, in Chapter 9, analyses Yan Fu’s early-20th-century Fayi, a Chinese translation of Montesquieu’s legal and political masterpiece The Spirit of Laws. He argues that in Fayi, Yan Fu combined the Western theory of governance with elements from traditional Chinese philosophy, such as Daoism and Confucianism. Yan Fu’s rewriting in Fayi is an expression of his thoughts rather than a linguistic mistranslation. His rewriting reflects his rejection of the revolutionary ideas at that time.

Lu Xun (1881-1936) is a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, literary critic and translator. In Chapter 10, Feng Cui points out that the reason why Lu Xun chose to use “hard translation” (word-for-word translation in a very rigid manner) to translate Marxist-Lenin texts is that “hard translation” can protect him from ire and criticism by the Communist Party of China in the circumstance that he did not have a complete understanding of Marxism-Leninism. Therefore, it is evident that the translator is influenced not only by the source texts but by the political and cultural context of his time.

In Chapter 11, Jiyong Geng observes that Charles Baudelaire’s Fleurs du mal, and its translation, reading and reception continued in China though the introduction of Western modernist literature into China was almost banned as a result of the profound changes in Chinese society that occurred after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Geng examines two translations of Fleurs du mal by Chen Jinrong and Guo Hongan through the lens of medio-translatology. He finds that Chen’s translation failed to follow the form and rhyme scheme of the source text and that Guo’s translation is more loyal to the source text. However, Chen’s work received a better response at that time because her translation appealed to the rebellious sentiment of young Chinese intellectuals who lived a struggling and paradoxical life during the period of China’s Cultural Revolution.

This edited volume has several noteworthy contributions. Firstly, it offers a new perspective on the nature of translation by introducing the concept of “Creative Treason” and provides four case studies to demonstrate how this concept can be applied in Translation Studies. Medio-translatology, situated at the intersection of comparative literature and TS, views translations of the target language literature as literary works in the source culture. As a result, medio-translatology offers a new perspective on the structuring of the history of literature in the source culture and challenges conventional standards for evaluating translations, which rely heavily on the quality and faithfulness of the translated text.

Despite its strengths, the edited volume is not perfect in its organization. Several chapters contain repetitive content. For example, the concept of “Creative Treason” and the background of medio-translatology are discussed repeatedly in different chapters. That being said, while contemporary Western translation theories have long been widespread, the translation theories of China deserve more attention in the English-speaking world. From “The Five Untranslatable Situations”[5] proposed by Xuanzang to Yan Fu’s translation criteria of “Faithfulness, Expressiveness, and Elegance,” from the idea of “Resemblance of Spirit”[6] by Lei Fu to the translation concept of “Three Beauties”[7] by Yuanchong Xu, we can see that Chinese scholars have made quite a few contributions to translation theories, which, unfortunately, were so far almost unknown and inaccessible to the English world. Therefore, this edited volume is a good starting point for introducing Chinese translation theories to the English world. This type of introduction helps promote international academic exchange in the realm of Translation Studies.