Abstract:

Chinese ethnology is a discipline introduced from the West and its establishment and development have been closely intertwined with the translation and dissemination of ethnological works in China. This paper first briefly outlines the Chinese translation history of ethnological works since the beginning of the 20th century and then investigates and analyzes the existing studies related to the Chinese translation of ethnological works respectively in translation studies community and ethnology community. It is found that the translation studies community primarily focuses on studies of translation history and ethnological translators, while the ethnology community’s research achievements are concentrated on bibliographic compilations and the descriptions of translation facts in disciplinary history. Based on the literature review and analysis, this paper reflects on the limitations of existing studies in terms of quality, scope, and perspective, and looks into the future research direction from the dimensions of macro-research, micro-research, academic environment, and academic responsibility.

Key words: translation studies, translation history of discipline, ethnological works