Governance-oriented state translation program in the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty

ABSTRACT

State translation program (STP) has existed since ancient times, and its manifestations, implementation modes, and governance functions have shown different characteristics in different political and historical periods. The histories, descriptions, and theories of translation in the Tang dynasty indicated that many influential inbound and outbound translation events during the Zhenguan era reflected the characteristics of STP. The state was the subject of translation activities, and through five means: nationalisation of translation institutions, intensification of resources, synergization of translation procedures, institutionalisation of translators’ identities, and classicisation of translation products, translation was elevated to a state act, which played the role of governance in maintaining imperial rule, stabilising social order, and constructing state image. The Zhenguan era has an essential position in the history of Chinese translation, and an examination of the types, characteristics, and functions of STP during this era will help reveal the form and mode of institutionalised translation and translation governance in ancient China, which can provide valuable experience and solutions for the implementation of translation governance in today’s states.

KEYWORDS:

• State translation program
• state governance
• institutionalised translation
• Tang dynasty
• Zhenguan era
• Buddhist scripture translation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the sub-project of the Major Projects on Philosophy and Social Sciences of The Ministry of Education of China “Research on the Compilation and Database Construction of Chinese Translation Discourse Literature [1840-2022]” [No. 23JZD038].

Notes on contributors

Dongsheng Ren

Dongsheng Ren is a professor of translation studies at the College of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China (OUC). Prof. Ren’s research focuses on STP and religious translation studies. He has completed two general projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation, as well as five projects from the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and others, and published over 90 academic papers in top-tier foreign language journals such as Translation Quarterly, Journal of Foreign Languages, Chinese Translators Journal, Foreign Languages in China, Foreign Languages Research and Foreign Language Education.

Zihan Wang

Zihan Wang is a Master’s degree candidate in translation studies at the College of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China (OUC). Her research interests include STP and translation history.