Music from the Heart

This book presents the primary academic materials that highlight how translation scholar C. C. Jane Lai bridges Chinese and foreign cultures. It explores how she applies her expertise in translating Chinese culture to create “verbal music” in the target languages. Furthermore, it illustrates how Chinese academic translators can effectively communicate Chinese culture and context well to a global audience. It addresses a rich and diverse range of subjects, including Chinese novels, poems, dramas, Zen quotations, essays, and publicity materials.

The book examines several crucial issues in translation, such as the beauty of verbal music and its performability, reader reception, the reproduction of the original style, rewriting and reinterpretation, the reconstruction of cultural imagery and the spirit of modern poetry, as well as strategies for translating publicity materials. Moreover, the introduction and appendices provide insights into the translator’s academic journey, as well as a catalogue of her published and unpublished translations, which hold significant scholarly and historical value.