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Soushenji, written by Gan Bao, a historian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is a collection of chi-kuai novels recording various stories of spirits and ghosts. It is a representative work of Chinese chi-kuai novels. This article examines the translation and dissemination of Soushenji around the world, with a focus on its translation and dissemination in Western countries. It found that they were concentrated in the 20th century. In the early stage, they were mainly selected translations and introductions, which were scattered in major sinological journals and translators' books. The identities of the translators were diverse, including missionaries, diplomats, and sinologists. In the later period, the number of selected translations gradually increased, and full translations also appeared. In-depth researches were carried out based on the author's life, the background of the book, the social significance, the theme and other aspects. Professional scholars, university professors and university doctoral students joined the translation team. "Translation," "introduction," and "research" were gradually combined. The translation center gradually shifted from Britain and France to the United States. This trend has continued to the 21st century, and more and more scholars have joined the team to study Soushenji.
Gan Bao; Soushenji; Translation and dissemination; Research
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On the Translation and Dissemination of Soushenji
How to cite this paper: Shunan Lai. (2025). On the Translation and Dissemination of Soushenji. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 1(1), 16-22.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.08.003