Translating Hong Kong female writing into English-Wong Bik-wan's language of the "repressed"
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Frontiers of Literary Studies in China
Publication Date
4-2017
Volume
11
Issue
1
First Page
206
Last Page
231
Publisher
Gaodeng Jiaoyu Chubanshe
Keywords
Hélène Cixous, translation, women’s writing, Wong Bik-wan, Hong Kong literature
Abstract
If a domesticated translation from Chinese to English can be understood as an act of eurocentrism, then the difficulties in translating Wong Bik-wan’s latest novel Weixi chong xing (The re-walking of Mei-hei, 2014) reveal how this Hong Kong female writer uses language to escape patriarchal and colonial influences. This article examines how Wong makes use of the strategy of writing as a “repressed” individual (both in terms of her subject position and language style). Even though her language and sentences are at times short and dense, and the rhythm is fast, Wong demonstrates how one can reveal more by seemingly saying less. Attempts to reduce her text to a single interpretation have only resulted in failure. If it is hard for the repressed to speak without oppression, Wong illustrates how one can circumvent the constraints through the tactic of evasion, and demonstrates how the repressed can explode from gaps and silence.
DOI
10.3868/s010-006-017-009-0
Print ISSN
16737318
E-ISSN
16737423
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Brill 2017. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Hui, I. (2017). Translating Hong Kong female writing into English-Wong Bik-wan's language of the "repressed". Frontiers of Literary Studies in China, 11(1), 206-231. doi: 10.3868/s010-006-017-009-0