Hijacking as feminist translation? A comparative study of the English and Portuguese translations of The three-body problem: remembrance of earth’s past(三體:地球往事)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/diacritica.6132Keywords:
Feminist translation, Hijacking strategy, Chinese science fiction translation, Comparative translation analysis, Gender stereotypesAbstract
Through the perspective of feminist translation theory, this paper explores the science fiction novel The three-body problem (in Chinese, 三體:地球往事) by Chinese author Liu Cixin (2008), a prominent science fiction writer in China. The work focuses on the analyses and comparisons of the English and Portuguese translations of the novel carried out by two translators, namely Ken Liu (2016) and Telma Carvalho (2021). The concept of “hijacking”, proposed by Luise Von Flotow (2004), is used as a reference to examine how gender issues are dealt with by the two translators. In this context, this article seeks to understand whether the feminist translation practices evidenced in the English translation are also applied in the Portuguese translation. It also aims to reflect on how the position of the translated literature (Even-Zohar, 1990) and the strategy adopted by the translators can influence the transmission, appropriateness, and acceptance of the translated literature. In summary, the study offers a new translation perspective on translations of The three-body problem, contributing to a deeper understanding of scientific translation.
References
Alter, A. (2019, December 3). How Chinese sci-fi conquered America. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/magazine/ken-liu-three-body-problem-chinese-science-fiction.html
Andone, O. H. (2002). Gender issues in translation. Perspectives, 10(2), 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2002.9961439
Bassnett, S. (2002). Translation studies. (3ª ed.). Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. (Original publicado por Routledge em 1991)
Bedjaoui, W. (2022). La traduction au prisme du genre et de la pensée islamique. French Cultural Studies, 33(1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/09571558211043233
Bozkurt, S. (2014). “Touched” translations in Turkey: a feminist translation approach. Moment Dergi, 1(1), 104–124. https://doi.org/10.17572/mj2014.1.104124
Carvalho, T. (2021). A revista Nova Juventude e os experimentalistas da literatura moderna chinesa [Dissertação de mestrado, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa]. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/42558
Castro, O., & Ergun, E. (Eds.). (2017). Feminist translation studies: local and transnational perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315679624
Castro, O., & Ergun, E. (2018). Translation and feminism. In J. Evans & F. Fernandez (Eds.), The routledge handbook of translation and politics (pp. 125–143). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315621289-9
Chamberlain, L. (2019). Gender and the metaphorics of translation (pp. 93–94). In L. Venuti (Ed.). Rethinking translation: discourse, subjectivity, ideology (pp. 57–74). Routledge. (Original publicado em 1992)
Chen, B. (2010). Feminist translation theory and its inspiration to translation study. Journal of Hubei University for Nationalities, 28(1), 150–152. https://doi.org/10.13501/j.cnki.42-1328/c.2010.01.012
Dong, H. (2009). 女性主義立場視野下的女性主義翻譯觀 [A tradução feminista na perspetiva do ponto de vista feminista]. Journal of Hebei Polytechnic University, 9(3), 147–149.
Even-Zohar, I. (1979). Polysystem theory. Poetics Today, 1(1/2), 287–310. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772051
Even-Zohar, I. (1990). The position of translated literature within the literary polysystem. Poetics Today, 1(1–2), 171–181. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772668 (Original publicado em 1978)
Fan, Z. (2017). 女性主義翻譯理論視角下看譯本《三體問題》中的翻譯策略 [Estratégias de tradução na tradução de O problema dos três corpos na perspetiva da tradução feminista]. Campus English, 12, 237.
Fan, Z. (2018). A study on the translation of terms with Chinese characteristics in The three-body problem from the perspective of the feminist translation theory [Master’s thesis, University of Tsingdao, Tsingdao, China].
Feral, A. L. (2011). Gender in audiovisual translation: naturalizing feminine voices in the French sex and the city. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 18(4), 391–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506811415199
Flotow, L. von. (2004). Translation and gender: translating in the era of feminism. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. (Original publicado por Routledge em 1997)
Flotow, L. von. (2022). “Thematic adaptation”. On localizing the language of “global feminism” and gender politics in transnational feminist translation practice and studies. In S. Amadori, C. Desoutter, C. Elefante, & R. Pederzoli (Eds.), La traduction dans une perspective de genre: Enjeux politiques, éditoriaux et professionnels (pp. 17–31). Edizioni Universitarie di Lettere Economia Diritto. https://doi.org/10.7359/997-2022-lflo
Fong, J. (2022). Book review: feminist translation studies: local and transnational perspectives edited by Olga Castro and Emek Ergun. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 4(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n1.21
Gabriel, U., Gygax, P. M., & Kuhn, E. A. (2018). Neutralising linguistic sexism: Promising but cumbersome? Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(5), 844–858. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430218771742
Godard, B. (1990). Theorizing feminist discourse/translation. In S. Bassnett & A. Lefevere (Eds.), Translation, history and culture (pp. 87–96). Cassell. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003049296-4
Hu, C. (2010). 女性主義翻譯對傳統譯論的解構及其局限 [A desconstrução e as suas limitações das teorias tradicionais da tradução pela tradução feminista]. Journal of Huangshi Institute of Technology, 27(6), 42–44, 53.
Irshad, I., & Yasmin, M. (2022). Feminism and literary translation: a systematic review. Heliyon, 8(3), e09082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09082
Jiang, X. (2003). 意識形態對翻譯的影響:闡發與新思考 [Influências ideológicas na tradução: uma explicação e novas reflexões]. Chinese Translators Journal, 24(5), 24–29.
Jiang, X. (2004). 女性主義對翻譯理論的影響 [A influência do feminismo na teoria da tradução]. Chinese Translators Journal, 25(4), 10–15.
Kang, S. (2017). A Study of English translations of the series The three-body problem based on feminist translation theory [Master’s thesis, Shandong University, Jinan, China]. Shandong University. https://doi.org/10.7666/d.Y3242574
Kim, G. (2015). An appropriation of translated literary texts: Hijacking–a case study of The bluest eye. The Journal of Humanities, 36(4), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.22947/IHMJU.2015.36.4.006
Lang, J. (2015). 論《三體》英譯本中的女性主義翻譯策略 [Estratégias de tradução feministas na tradução de The three-body problem] (Master’s thesis, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China). https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201502&filename=1015582151.nh
Lardelli, M. (2023). Gender-fair translation: a case study beyond the binary. Perspectives, 32(6), 1146–1162. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2023.2268654
Li, S., & Yu, Y. (2023). Ken Liu—practitioner of feminist translation theory. Modern Linguistics, 11(11), 5262–5268. https://doi.org/10.12677/ML.2023.1111708
Liu, C. (2008). 三體:地球往事 [O problema dos três corpos: o passado do planeta Terra]. Chongqing Publishing Group.
Liu, C. (2016). The three-body problem (K. Liu, Trad.). Head of Zeus.
Liu, C. (2021). O problema dos três corpos (T. Carvalho, Trad.). Relógio d’Água.
Luo, P. (2017). A study on the translation of The three-body problem from the perspective of feminist translation theory [Master’s thesis, Nanhua University, Hengyang, China]. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201801&filename=1018035156.nh
Lv, X. (2017). 中國科幻文學外譯的性別考量---以《三體》第一、二部英譯本為例 [Considerações de género na tradução de ficção científica chinesa: um estudo dos volumes I e II da tradução inglesa de The three-body problem]. Foreign Language and Literature Studies, 4, 235–243. https://doi.org/10.19716/j.1672-4720.2017.04.003.
Que, C. (2020). On “hijacking” in Ken Liu’s translation: a case study of The three-body problem and death’s end [Master’s thesis, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China]. https://doi.org/10.27019/d.cnki.gfjsu.2020.000385
Shou, C., & Min, C. (2017). A study of translation strategy in Eileen Chang’s The Golden Cangue from the perspective of feminist translation theory. Cross-Cultural Communication, 13(8), 32–39.
Simon, S. (1996). Gender in translation: culture identity and the politics of transmission. Routledge.
Tao, C. (2008). Creative infidelities in feminist translation: on feminist translation strategies. Journal of Qinghai Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 4, 122–125. https://doi.org/10.16229/j.cnki.issn1000-5102.2008.04.021
Toury, G. (2000). The nature and role of norms in translation. In L. Venuti (Ed.), The translation studies reader (pp. 198–211). Routledge. (Original publicado em1995)
Venuti, L. (1995). The translator’s invisibility: a history of translation. Routledge.
Wallmach, K. (1996). Feminist translation: a first exploration. Language Matters, 27(1), 284–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/10228199608566115
Wang, J. (2010). 淺談西方女性主義翻譯理論及策略 [Uma introdução às teorias e estratégias de tradução feministas ocidentais]. Journal of Xi'an University of Arts and Science, 2010, 92–94.
Wu, Y. (2014). 追憶似水未來 [Memórias do futuro fluido]. Hubei Science and Technology Press.
Yang, Y. (2008). 女性主義視角下的翻譯研究 [Estudos de tradução numa perspetiva feminista]. Journal of Sichuan Normal University, 4, 78–82.
Zhang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2019). Western female translation theorists and their translation views. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 4(4), 58–64.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Gaozhao Chen

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.






