Challenges of publishing contemporary Chinese literature in the Hispanic world
Contemporary Chinese literature has become increasingly accessible in Western countries, yet it still occupies a peripheral position. In Spanish-speaking countries, namely Spain and Latin America, this phenomenon is due to a variety of factors. First, the challenges of publishing Chinese literature in the West are certainly evident when translating, publishing and distributing Chinese literature in Spain and Latin America; these include a general dislike of translated works by readers, difficulties in marketing and a general lack of knowledge about Chinese literature. However, there are other problems that are specific to the Hispanic world, including the hegemony of English- and French-speaking countries in the literary market and difficulties with the translation of Chinese literature into Spanish. This article explores the challenges of publishing and distributing contemporary Chinese literature in the Hispanic world, focusing first on the problems that tend to arise in most Western countries and then delving deeper into the cases of Spain and Latin America.
Executive summary
- There is a huge disparity between modern and contemporary Latin American literature exported to China and modern and contemporary Chinese literature imported to Latin America.
- The hegemony of the English- and French-speaking markets in the world of literary publications, as well as the difficulties in producing direct translations of quality, are two of the reasons for this disparity.
- The publishing world of English-speaking countries does not favor translations. They represent only 3% of the supply in the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Chinese modern and contemporary literature rarely become bestsellers in the English-speaking world, even if they are bestsellers in China. Other difficulties include: the language barrier that prevents both critics and publishing houses from evaluating the quality of the original work, in addition to making it difficult for the writer to contact his audience as well as the costs of translation.
- In the case of the French-speaking world, the outlook is better, since translated literature covers 25% of the publishing supply. Despite this, the position of modern and contemporary Chinese literature remains peripheral.
- In the Spanish-speaking world, China's presence in Latin America, with the Belt and Road Initiative, has led to greater interest in Chinese literature. Spain is also the fourth Western country with the most translations of Chinese literature. In the Spanish-speaking world, 41 of the 59 publishing houses that publish modern and contemporary Chinese literature are located in Spain.
- Between 1985 and 2018, a total of 132 works by 50 authors of contemporary Chinese literature were published in Latin America, of which almost 50% were indirect translations from English or French; while in the 1980s alone, 130 books by Latin American authors were published in China. Of the translated literature published in Spain between 2008 and 2017, only 3% was translated from Chinese, with 470 works published between 1979 and 2014.
- Indirect translation is mainly due to two reasons: lower costs and a lack of specialized translators. However, since 2012, when the Chinese author Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, this trend has been declining. There are more and more quality direct translations and interest in modern and contemporary Chinese literature.