On October 31, Prof. Xiu Gang, the former president of Tianjin Foreign Studies University and vice president of the China Association for Translation, was invited to delivered a lecture on New Trends in Translation Studies: a Case of Chinese-Japanese Translation . The lecture was chaired by Prof. Han Lihong, director of the Japanese Department. More than 50 teachers and students from the Japanese Department attended the lecture.
Xiu Gang first introduced that the Chinese translation industry changed with national realities and international background, namely, China was moving from the input-oriented translation towards the opposite direction 30 years since reform and opening up and new opportunities and challenges were under the way. Then, Prof. Xiu expounded the topic in details from the following four aspects. First, He believed that translation was possible unless the standards and the purpose of translation was clarified. Second, how to translate texts without the receiver; Third, the standard of translation for recipients in the service sector was ensured; Last, how to translate texts for the purpose of intercultural communication. Prof. Xiu stated that translation should achieve the effect of resolving misunderstandings among different cultures without cultural and social barriers and allowing the recipient to understand the translation accurately and naturally.
Humorous, Xiu Gang delivered an encouraging lecture covering a lot of impressing examples. After the lecture, Prof. Xiu exchanged some insights and opinions with some MTI students about language learning and career planning.
Finally, Prof. Liu Yuzhen from the Japanese Department made a wonderful comment on the lecture citing his own translation practice. She emphasized the importance of the translators’ own knowledge and expressed her wish for the next encounter with Prof. Xiu Gang.
