The “Baojuan Reciter” in the West: An Interview with Professor Wilt L.Idema

YAO Wei; Wilt L. Idema

doi:10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20225209

Volume 5 Issue 2

Jun. 2022

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YAO Wei, Wilt L. Idema. The “Baojuan Reciter” in the West: An Interview with Professor Wilt L.Idema[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2022, 5(2): 169-177. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20225209

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YAO Wei, Wilt L. Idema. The “Baojuan Reciter” in the West: An Interview with Professor Wilt L.Idema[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2022, 5(2): 169-177. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20225209

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The “Baojuan Reciter” in the West: An Interview with Professor Wilt L.Idema

doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20225209

YAO Wei^1
,,
Wilt L. Idema^2
,

1. Longdong University;
2. Harvard University

Received Date: 2021-12-19
Accepted Date: 2022-06-10

Abstract

Abstract

From publishing the first research paper centered on Yingge Baojuan(The Precious Scroll of the Parrot) in 1999 to the recent translations of Wenshu Baojuan(The Precious Scroll of the Rat Epidemic), Foshuo Yangshi Guixiu Hongluo Huaxiange Baojuan(The Precious Scroll, as Preached by the Buddha, of Little Huaxian:How Woman Yang as a Ghost Embroidered Red Gauze), and Foshuo Wangzhongqing Dashisan Shoujin Baojuan(The Precious Scroll, as Preached by the Buddha, of the Handkerchief:How Wangzhongqing Lost Everything) in 2021, Wilt L. Idema has devoted himself to studies and translations of Baojuan for 22 years. With 24 volumes of Baojuan translations(including four selected translations), he has established himself as the chief Western translator in this genre. This interview was translated and reorganized based on e-mail drafts over 22 months(November 6, 2019 to September 23, 2021), involving translation motivation, material selection, translation strategies, publishing process, and the overseas dissemination of Idema's translations.During the interview, Idema points out that unrhythmical translation is the mainstream for Baojuan, and blindly insisting on the rhythm will inevitably hamper the content greatly. In addition, to ensure the overall acceptance and transmission of these translations, "Baojuan," as a culturally-bound term within China, should be rendered literally as "Precious Scroll," with detailed annotations to explain deeper meanings. What's more, the dissemination paradigm of working through a commercial press with an "agent" is not suitable for China's vernacular works, like Baojuan. Instead, a network constituted of foreign academic presses, periodicals and scholarly reviewers can meet the needs of educated Western readers, thus promoting the spread of Baojuan in the West in a practicable manner. Professor Idema is humble and generous not only in kindly solving all the puzzles concerning his translations, but also in meticulously commenting on the interviewer's newly published papers.
- Wilt L.Idema,
- China's prosimetric literature,
- China's vernacular literature,
- Baojuan,
- translation

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References(17)

References

[1]	Wilt L. Idema, "Prosimetric and Verse Narrative, " in The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, Vol. II From 1375, eds. Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen(Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2010), 343-412.
[2]	Wilt L. Idema, The Immortal Maiden Equal to Heaven and Other Precious Scrolls from Western Gansu(Amherst, MA:Cambria Press, 2015).
[3]	Wilt L. Idema, Meng JiangnüBrings Down the Great Wall:Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend(Seattle:University of Washington Press, 2008).
[4]	Wilt L. Idema, "Fourth Sister Zhang Creates Havoc in the Eastern Capital, " CHINOPERL 1(2012):37-112.
[5]	Rostislav Berezkin. "Review of The Immortal Maiden Equal to Heaven and Other Precious Scrolls from Western Gansu, " Frontiers of History in China 4(2016):630-35.
[6]	Katherine Alexander. "Review of The Immortal Maiden Equal to Heaven and Other Precious Scrolls from Western Gansu, " Journal of Chinese Religions 2(2017):212-14.
[7]	David Johnson, "Review of The Immortal Maiden Equal to Heaven and Other Precious Scrolls from Western Gansu, " Asian Theatre Journal 2(2017):123-28.
[8]	Kathy Foley, "Review of The Immortal Maiden Equal to Heaven and Other Precious Scrolls from Western Gansu, " Asian Theatre Journal 1(2017):253-57.
[9]	参见姚伟:《陇上珍宝、"卷" 入世界——伊维德河西宝卷译介研究》, 《民族翻译》2020年第3期, 第5-12页。[YAO Wei, "Longshang zhenbao, juanru shijie:Yiweide hexi baojuan yijie yanjiu" (Pearls in Gansu, Parts into World:A Study of Wilt L. Idema's Translation of Hexi Baojuan), Minzu fanyi(Minority Translators Journal) 3(2020):5 -12.]
[10]	有关郭实猎的《香山宝卷》译介, 参见姚伟、施晔:《郭实猎的〈香山宝卷〉译介评析——兼论中国宝卷西传的起点》, 《国际汉学》2022年第1期, 第182-189页。[YAO Wei, SHI Ye, "Guoshilie de xiangshanbaojuan yijie pingxi:jianlun zhongguo baojuan xichuan de qidian" (A Further Exploration of the Western Origin of Chinese Baojuan:A Study of Karl Gützlaff's Translation of Xiangshan Baojuan), Guoji hanxue(International Sinology) 1(2022 ):182-89.]
[11]	Wilt L. Idema, The Pitfalls of Piety for Married Women:Two Precious Scrolls of the Ming Dynasty(New York:Cornell University Press, 2021).
[12]	参见马西沙:《最早一部宝卷的研究》, 《世界宗教研究》1986年第2期, 第56-71页。[MA Xisha, "Zuizao yibu baojuan de yanjiu" (A Study of the Earliest Baojuan), Shijie zongjiao yanjiu(Studies in World Religions) 2(1986):56 -71.]
[13]	参见尚丽新:《宝卷丛抄》, 太原:三晋出版社, 2018年。[SHANG Lixin, Baojuan congchao(A Selection of Baojuan), Taiyuan:Sanjin Publishing House, 2008.]
[14]	David Tod Roy, The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P' ing Mei, Volume Four:The Climax(New Jersey:Princeton University Press, 2011), 437-52.
[15]	有关《佛说杨氏鬼绣红罗化仙哥宝卷》刊刻时间的考述, 参见车锡伦:《中国宝卷研究》, 桂林:广西师范大学出版社, 2009年, 第515页。[CHE Xilun, Zhongguo baojuan yanjiu(A Study of China's Baojuan), Guilin:Guangxi Normal University Press, 2009, 515.]
[16]	Wilt L. Idema, "The Precious Scroll of the Rat Epidemic by Li Shanbao, " Sino-Platonic Papers, 313(2021), http://www.sino-platonic.org/[April 15, 2021].
[17]	Wilt L. Idema, Mouse vs. Cat in Chinese Literature:Tales and Commentary(Seattle:University of Washington Press, 2019).