H.C. Andersen’s tales are considered as classical fairy tales in China. How Wenjie Li they have achieved this canonical status is one of the concerns of this book. Taking a historical point of view, this book has explained how the Chinese translations and interpretations of his tales, since they were first introduced and translated, have contributed to their canonization, and how they have shaped the various images of Andersen in different temporal periods. Moreover, considering translation as a social practice taking place in a polysystem, this book has further explicated how socio-political factors like economics and ideology, as well as human factors such as patrons, translators, and readers, have influenced the Chinese translations and interpretations of Andersen’s tales. In addition, by referring to the Chinese target texts, English mediating texts and Danish original texts, this book has clarified the intertextual relations and influences operating among different versions of Andersen’s tales.
Wenjie Li, who has received her PhD degree from Copenhagen University, is a research fellow affiliated with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Under the support of Carlsberg Foundation, she is currently working on a post-doc project in H.C. Andersen Centre, Southern Denmark University, concerning the interrelations between the Chinese translation and interpretation of H.C. Andersen’s tales and the national images of Denmark in China.
