Abstract:

Transknowletology defines translation as “the worldwide reproduction of local knowledge”. Examining Lin Shu’s translations through this lens reveals a seemingly paradoxical phenomenon: his most “unfaithful” translations turned out to be the most knowledge-productive. Using “behavior-knowledge” as a framework, this study views translator behavior as the observable manifestation of knowledge reconstruction. By analyzing behavioral choices, it uncovers the process through which knowledge is identified, selected, transformed, and embedded into a foreign culture during its cross-linguistic journey, thereby achieving an ascent from behavioral description to knowledge analysis. The study finds that in his translations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Joan Haste, and The Old Curiosity Shop, Lin Shu systematically “localized” the narrative, ethical, and belief knowledge embedded in Western novels through strategies such as thematic reconstruction, stylistic domestication, and ethical adaptation, granting them new forms of life within the social context of late Qing China. This practice can be conceptualized as the “Lin Shu paradigm”, wherein social needs serve as the primary selection criterion, cultural dignity acts as the guiding principle, and reader reception functions as the ultimate measure of effectiveness. This paper provides historical insights into the knowledge-reconstructive function of translation and opens up possibilities for dialogue between transknowletology and translator behavior criticism.

Key words: Transknowletology, knowledge reconstruction, Lin Shu paradigm, local knowledge, translator behavior