Translating 20th century Wuxia novels : The Eagle Shooting Heroes as a case study

‘Wuxia’ literature (also known as martial arts literature) has been an indispensable part of the Chinese identity and culture. The genre has been well liked by the masses in both literature and cinema form and represents a huge part of the Chinese pop culture. In recent years, the wuxia genre has attracted an immense amount of interest in the western world with Chinese sword-fighting films (wu xia pian) making their entrance into Hollywood. However, given the rising popularity of the genre, there seems to be a lack of English translations of ‘wuxia’ literature in the western world. This study aims to shed some light into the current lack of English translation of ‘wuxia’ literature and examine some of the challenges the translators faced. Through the findings of this research, the author aims to ultimately propose translation recommendations that may assist future attempts in translating ‘wuxia’ literature. Jin yong’s novel She diao ying xiong zhuan (The Eagle-shooting Heroes) will be used as a case study. Jin Yong have sold over 300 million of his books worldwide, and is widely accepted as the person that reinvented the ‘wuxia’ literature. His novel She diao ying xiong zhuan (The Eagle-shooting Heroes) was said to be perfectly executed and written, thus cementing Jin Yong’s status as one of the greatest writers of the ‘wuxia’ genre. Therefore, The Eagle-shooting Heroes is undoubtedly one of the most important and best novels that Jin Yong has ever written.Master of Arts (Translation and Interpretation