Abstract:

Contemporary Chinese literature shoulders the responsibility of “describing China and communicating with the world”. Looking back at the dissemination process of Mo Yan’s literary works overseas, it can be found that Japan’s translating and publishing circles have been key driving forces. Mo Yan’s works were first translated into and published in Japan in the 1980s. The process began with scholars’ tentative introductions of his works in journals and magazines, followed by skepticism and criticism and then by vigorous promotion of famous scholars. In the early years only certain publishing houses published Mo Yan’s works while in the later years some major comprehensive publishing houses also joined in the publication of his works. The past several decades has witnessed twists and turns in the dissemination of Mo Yan’s works in Japan: from tentative introduction to skepticism and then to acceptance and identification. In the whole process, the translating and publishing of Mo Yan’s works were characterized by the largest number of works translated, the huge quantity of books sold, the authoritativeness and academic nature of publishing houses. Thus, an in-depth study on the dissemination of Mo Yan’s works in Japan in the last three decades in terms of translating and publishing is of vital importance to the study on the process of contemporary Chinese literature going out to the world.