A Bourdieusean perspective on the genesis and development of the science fiction translation field in China (1891–1949) with special reference to translations of H.G. Wells’s science fiction

This thesis argues that the development of the field consists of two phases. In the first phase (1891 to 1915), through the promotion of key agents (Timothy Richard and The Commercial Press), science fiction began to be translated and published in China, contributing to the genesis of the field, within which books, newspapers and magazines were publication media; Classical Chinese and translation norms inclined towards the target culture were dominant in the process of translation.

With some agents (Bao Tianxiao) conforming to and some agents (Lu Xun and Chen Hongbi) challenging the norms that were formed before 1916, the science fiction translation field comes to the second developmental phase (1916 to 1949). With the outbreak of the May Fourth New Culture Movement in 1915, the field experienced dramatic changes: Written Vernacular Chinese and translation norms inclined towards the source culture dominated the field.