Rewriting of Text and Paratext: Reception of “Bushido

Xiao Li

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:304076 • DOI: 10.4018/IJTIAL.304076

Bushido: The Soul of Japan is an influential sociology work for the world to study Japan. Drawing primarily upon cultural translation studies and Gerard Genette's paratext theory, this article investigates how the 10 Chinese translations of Bushido: The Soul of Japan make meaning through rewriting of both text and paratext. The authoress contends that the cultural self-complacency, typical of “Escape from Asia” mentality in the wake of the Meiji Restoration, has been filtered by the dominant nationalist ideology in the target setting. Specifically, the affirmation of Chinese culture in the texts tends to be over-translated, while those paratexts that run contrary to the interest of the Chinese nation are either omitted or rewritten in conformity to Chinese nationalist thinking. As a result of the ideological rewriting of both text and paratext, Bushido has acquired a new meaning of war machine of modern Japanese militarism, which is a far cry from those intended by Inazo Nitobe in the wake of the first Sino-Japanese War.