Translating China’s Power: The Collaborative Work Practice of Translating The Governance of China

This chapter approaches institutional translation as a multi-layered and multi-stage process and gives an account of the ‘collective dimension’ of political translation in China. Translating political speeches is not a solitary undertaking, but a collaborative work practice that can be deeply affected by interactional dynamics. The study seeks to reveal these dynamics in different stages of the translation process by taking the Italian version of The governance of China I as a case study. Specifically, it begins by shedding light on the growing use of political translation as a tool of PRC external propaganda, outlining not only the strategic narratives conveyed, but also the role of the institutions involved. In so doing, this study explores the organization of the translational act, providing insight into the selection of translators, their identity and the interactional dynamics that characterized their relationship with the Chinese reviewers. This article is deemed to contribute to the development of a common conceptual and empirical framework in the domain of political translation, that takes into due account the role of the specific factors that determine the institutional mode of translation, factors which to date have remained largely understudied by scholars in the field of translation studies.