Conceptualising China through translation

<p>This monograph provides an innovative methodology for investigating how China has been conceptualised historically by tracing the development of four key cultural terms (filial piety face <i>fengshui</i> and <i>guanxi</i>) between English and Chinese. It addresses how specific ideas about what constitutes the uniqueness of Chinese culture influence the ways users of these concepts think about China and themselves. <br><br>Adopting a combination of archival research and mining of electronic databases it documents how the translation process has been bound up in the production of new meaning. <br><br>In uncovering how both sides of the translation process stand to be transformed by it the study demonstrates the dialogic nature of translation and its potential contribution to cross-cultural understanding. It also aims to develop a foundation on which other area studies might build broader scholarship about global knowledge production and exchange.</p>