\"It has been three or four decades since I had the dream of compiling a history of literature from the Ming Dynasty at the age of 40.\" In 1999， Mr. Xu Shuofang (1923-- 2007)， who was nearly eighty years old， recalled his memories like this in the preface to A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty. Seven years later， A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty， co-authored by Mr. Xu and his student Sun Qiuke， was finally published.

However， Mr. Xu had never expected that the writings condensing his lifelong efforts would remain popular today and be widely spread overseas.

These days， the English version of A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty was jointly published by Zhejiang University Press and Springer Nature Group and released to the world on the Springer Link platform. The export of this book also means that more overseas readers will be introduced to the literature of Ming Dynasty China.

A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty

A High Mountain

When it comes to ancient Chinese literature， Xu Shuofang should not be ignored. Mr. Xu is a famous scholar of ancient Chinese literature and a leading authority in the study of dramas and novels in the Yuan， Ming， and Qing dynasties.

In his life， Mr. Xu had created many works to his credit， including the Biography of Tang Xianzu， Chronicles of Dramatists in Late Ming Dynasty， Collection of Shen Jing， etc. A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty was the last book he wrote before passing.

In November 2006， when this book was published， Mr. Xu had been in a coma in the hospital for a couple of years. His students visited him with the book， saying， \"Mr. Xu， your book， A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty has been published.\" As soon as they said this， a drop of tear slipped from the corner of his eye. Three months later， one February afternoon， 2007， he passed away in peace.

Though he is deceased， Mr. Xu has left treasures for later generations. Until now， A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty has remained a high mountain that is difficult to surpass.

A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty created a dynastic history of literature in the Ming Dynasty and comprehensively summarized literature characteristics in the Ming Dynasty. When you open the contents， a list of writers and their works in the Ming Dynasty， the actual creation at that time， literary phenomena， as well as relevant literary theories， historical materials， etc.， come into view before you read the detailed texts.

In addition， the book puts forward a series of new opinions on the history of literature in the Ming Dynasty. For example， it proposes \"accumulated collective creation of full-length novels through generations\" for the first time in the history of literature.

Furthermore， this book makes full use of the theory of development in literature principles and sociological methods to discover the essence of development through cross-section analyses， based on literature case studies and combining data textual research and the summary of laws.

A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty， which pushed the study of literature on the Ming Dynasty forward， has been the pinnacle of the study of Chinese literature in the Ming Dynasty. In the following studies on the history of Chinese literature， none of those involved in the study of the Ming Dynasty have made it beyond the framework constructed in this book.

The English Version of A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty

A “Window”

Zhejiang is a window that shows us China and Chinese characteristics. With its rich cultural heritage and time-honored history， Zhejiang acts as an important platform for international academic and cultural exchanges. The Implementation Plan of Zhejiang's High-quality Development and Construction of Demonstration Zone for Common Prosperity (2021-- 2025) puts forward \"implementing the 'going abroad plan' of Zhejiang culture to create a window of international communication that radiates all over the world\".

Chen Jie， a professor at School of Humanities， Zhejiang University， and Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Zhejiang University Press， believes that the \"Academic Classics Going Abroad\" program can help promote Zhejiang's experience across the country and throughout the world so that the world will truly know and understand China. \"It plays an important role in expanding the academic vision of Chinese scholars and enhancing China's international discursive power and academic influence in the realm of ideology and culture.\"

Many traditional Chinese novels and stories， such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms， Water Margin， A Journey to the West， and The Peony Pavilion， are widely known abroad. However， there are few English monographs that systematically sort out the literature from the Ming Dynasty and explore its evolution and historical significance.

The launch of the English version of A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty has extended the influence of this book from home to abroad， which systematically fills the gaps in the overseas dissemination of literature from the Ming Dynasty.

At present， when the West is increasingly interested in traditional Chinese culture， this book opens a new \"window\" for the world to understand ancient Chinese literature. This book is both a monograph for the study of the history of literature in the Ming Dynasty and the most authoritative textbook for students in this major. In this view， it is suitable not only for professionals in literature and history， but also for amateurs and readers of literature and history.

For example， the book introduces A Journey to the West， a novel loved by overseas readers while it explains how romantic fairy tales referred to in the novel were \"created\" through \"imaginations\". In addition to storytelling， it explores the origins of literature and history more deeply in more aspects.

It is reported that A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty is one of the works published by Zhejiang University in response to the \"Academic Classics Going Abroad\" program within the Chinese-English translation project and one of the outcomes in its first phase.

The \"Academic Classics Going Abroad\" program， launched in 2019， was set up by Zhejiang University to promote the research results of humanities and social sciences of the university to the world. It aims to publish a number of academic classics that can represent Chinese academic standards， reflect the essence of Chinese culture， and show Chinese academic frontiers. This program falls into the Chinese-English translation program for Chinese academic classics and the funding program for English academic publications.

At present， 16 kinds of works on the research of humanities and social sciences authored by well-known scholars at Zhejiang University have been selected by the Chinese-English translation program. Besides A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty (English version)， General Theory of Dunhuang Studies (English version) and General Theory of Ancient Chinese (English version) will soon be released. In the next three years， sixteen categories of books will be translated and published under this program.

Translation of Classical Literary Works

A \"Barrier\"

Translation comes across as a barrier when academic classics， especially literary works， are \"going global\". In translatology， there is a saying: There are always untranslatable things in literary works. That's because literature is the art of language， in which lie the individual wills of works and the differences in cultural context.

Mo Yan， the famous Nobel Prize winner， said， \"Translation is tougher than creation.\" It took him only 43 days to finish the first draft of Life and Death are Wearing Me Out， while it took Anna Gustafsson Chen， a Swedish sinologist， a good six years to translate this book.

Then， what are the difficulties in translating Chinese classics? \"It was difficult， at multiple levels，\" said Ma Li， the translator of A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty and a professor at East China University of Political Science and Law， to the journalist on the phone. As a 30-year experienced translator， she was outspoken about the difficulties of translating A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty.

In this book， a study is made by three genres: novels， operas， and poems. It contains not only the author's views， but also citations of expressions in many literary works from the Ming Dynasty. In the translation process， all these contents need to be represented as \"intact\" as possible.

There are many difficulties in this process. For example， it is difficult to find the corresponding pronunciations in English for some onomatopoeia words in ancient Chinese poetry. As some dramas are uncommon， no one has translated them yet. The first translator is sure to face many challenges. In the translation of ancient Chinese works， compared with vernacular works， cultural differences should be considered. In addition， the \"rhyme\" unique in traditional Chinese culture should be conveyed to overseas readers as much as possible.

In the translation process， Ma Li used to peruse the original work repeatedly， combining the author's point of view， language features， and the differences between Chinese and foreign cultures. \"There is neither shortcut nor end to translation，\" said Ma Li. She believed that good translation was cultivated day after day.

The translation and publication of literary works carry the heavy responsibility of bringing Chinese culture abroad. For more overseas readers， the launch of the English version of A History of Literature in the Ming Dynasty means that the study of literature of the Ming Dynasty becomes more accessible. Ma Li is very proud of it. \"It is much more difficult and rewarding than translating best sellers.\"