Translating Chinese-Language Feminist and Queer Literature: Toward a Relational Framework

Theories in translation studies have been formulated based on Western epistemic traditions (with exceptions such as the work of the late Martha Cheung). Thus, the literary translation has long been framed through the Western myth of individualism, emphasising the solitary role of the literary translator. Building on efforts since the 2000s in the sociology of translation to challenge this view, RelaTrans develops a collaborative effort to present a new relational paradigm addressing both theoretical perspectives and in-depth case studies. This relational understanding entails that action is never purely individual; it emerges from the co-action of multiple human and non-human agents. RelaTrans will build a new conceptual framework (the co-action paradigm) integrating relational theories based on Chinese classical texts with contemporary new materialism and applying them to the translation process. The project focuses on the translation of Chinese-language queer and feminist texts into English, Italian, Spanish, Basque and Catalan, aiming to strengthen the solidarity with and visibility of these groups through ethical and respectful literary translation. The choice of texts is based on our hypothesis that the co-action paradigm (with adaptive agency as one of its central concepts) is particularly well suited to promote an ethical engagement with texts. Since the co-action paradigm is processual, the project adopts an ethnographic methodology to observe translation in vivo, complemented by historical and sociological methods. The project will promote inclusivity at three levels: 1) in the choice of the corpus, composed of voices from marginalised groups; 2) in the target linguistic contexts, including central languages (Spanish, Italian and English) and minor ones (Basque, Catalan); 3) in the choice of the agents, focusing on both human and non-human agents and working with both established and emergent translators through the collaboration with a charity (Paper Republic), a non-profit publisher (¡Hjckrrh!) and a civil society collective (China Traducida). The interdisciplinary project, combining philosophy, with translation, gender and Chinese studies, will focus on three dimensions that foreground a relational understanding of agency in the translation process: 1) human-human co-action; 2) human-text co-action; and 3) human-machine co-action. These three dimensions will structure the project. A digital archive showcasing a selection of queer and feminist Chinese-language literature, its authors, translators and editors with a bibliographical database, paratextual images, open access translations, and biographies will support quantitative and qualitative research. In addition to the digital archive, expected outputs include an edited volume in Spanish combining academic chapters with seminal untranslated works, a special issue on feminist and queer Sinophone literatures and their international circulation, and a special issue on translation and materiality, as well as peer-reviewed journal articles and a public event featuring readings and discussions by translators, writers, and activists of selected texts from the digital archive. This project is a streamlined version inspired by an ERC Consolidator Grant proposal submitted to the 2024 call, which was invited to the interview stage, but was ultimately not funded. It is designed as a pilot study to increment the chances of receiving funding upon resubmission to the ERC.