Translatability of Revolution: Guo Moruo and Twentieth-Century Chinese Culture

In the first comprehensive study of Guo Moruo in English, Pu Wang explores the dynamics of translation, revolution, and historical imagination in twentieth-century Chinese culture. Guo was a romantic writer, Mao Zedong’s last poetic interlocutor, a Marxist historian, president of China’s Academy of Sciences, and translator of Goethe’s Faust.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 06 August 2018
Publisher: Harvard University, Asia Center

The first comprehensive study of Guo Moruo's (1892–1978) lifework in English, this book delves into the intricate dynamics of translation, revolution, and historical imagination in twentieth-century Chinese culture. Guo, a romantic writer who eventually became Mao Zedong's final poetic interlocutor, a Marxist historian who transitioned into the inaugural president of China's Academy of Sciences, and a leftist politician who dedicated nearly three decades to translating Goethe's Faust, had a multifaceted career intricately woven within China's revolutionary century. His legacy has elicited more controversy than admiration, and recent scholarship has paid scant attention to his oeuvre as a whole, let alone his role as a translator.

The Translatability of Revolution, by navigating across various genres of Guo's works and engaging with the texts of numerous other writers, addresses two critical issues of revolutionary cultural politics: translation and historical interpretation. Part 1 delves into the translingual creation of China's revolutionary culture, particularly Guo's translation of Faust as a "development of Zeitgeist." Part 2 explores Guo's rewritings of antiquity in lyrical, dramatic, and historiographical-paleographical forms, including his vernacular translation of classical Chinese poetry. By interrogating the relationship between translation and historical imagination within revolutionary cultural practice, this book uncovers a transcoding of different historical conjunctures into "now-time," teeming with possibilities and tensions.

Guo's life and career were marked by a series of transformative experiences. Born in a poor rural family in Guangdong province, he was a self-educated man who became deeply influenced by the revolutionary movements of the early twentieth century. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1921 and played a significant role in the establishment of the Red Army. During the Chinese Civil War, Guo served as a military commander and was involved in several key battles, including the Battle of Changsha and the Long March.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Guo resumed his literary career and became one of the most prominent writers of the time. He wrote extensively on politics, history, and culture, and his works were widely read and influential in China. However, his political views and his association with Mao Zedong's regime led to criticism and persecution, and he was forced to spend several years in exile.

Despite these challenges, Guo remained committed to his literary and political pursuits. He continued to write and translate, and his works remained a source of inspiration for generations of Chinese writers and activists. In addition to his literary achievements, Guo also played a significant role in shaping China's cultural and intellectual landscape. He was a founding member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and was instrumental in establishing the country's modern literary and cultural institutions.

Guo's translation of Faust is perhaps his most famous and controversial work. Published in 1951, it was the first complete translation of Goethe's masterpiece into Chinese. Guo's translation was highly regarded for its poetic beauty and its faithful rendering of Goethe's original German. However, it also sparked controversy due to its political implications. Guo's interpretation of Faust as a critique of capitalism and imperialism resonated with the Chinese Communist Party's ideology, and the book was widely promoted as a symbol of the Party's commitment to socialist revolution.

Despite the controversy surrounding his translation of Faust, Guo's legacy as a writer and translator remains significant. His works continue to be studied and celebrated in China, and his role as a translator has been recognized as a crucial contribution to the development of Chinese literature and culture. The Translatability of Revolution, by examining the dynamics of translation, revolution, and historical imagination in Guo's lifework, offers a fresh perspective on the complex and multifaceted nature of twentieth-century Chinese culture.

Weight: 616g
Dimension: 161 x 236 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674987180