Carlos Rojas (born 1970 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) is an American

sinologist Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...

and translator. He is currently Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. He is a

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

and his work and teachings primarily focus on

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

. He also teaches the subjects of

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

, sexuality, and

feminist studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppressi ...

. He received a B.A. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1995 and a Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 2000. Before his professorship at Duke, Rojas was Assistant Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Film at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. Rojas lives in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Career

Carlos Rojas and Eileen Cheng-yin Chow translated

Yu Hua Yu Hua (; born April 3, 1960, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) is a Chinese author. Shortly after his debut as a fiction writer in 1983, his first breakthrough came in 1987, when he released the short story '' On the Road at Age Eighteen''. Yu ...

's novel ''

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

''. Their translation was shortlisted for the 2008

Man Asian Literary Prize The Man Asian Literary Prize was an annual literary award between 2007 and 2012, given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. It is awarded to writer ...

. Rojas has also translated several books by Chinese novelist and short story writer

Yan Lianke Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed inde ...

. His translation of Yan Lianke's ''The Four Books'' was shortlisted for the 2016

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

Isabel Hilton Isabel Nancy Hilton OBE (born 25 November 1949) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster based in London. Early life Hilton was educated at Edinburgh University, where she studied Chinese to post-graduate level. As Secretary of the entirel ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' called it "impeccably" translated. His translation of Yan Lianke's ''The Explosion Chronicles'' was longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize, the 2017

Pen Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

, and the 2017

National Translation Award The National Translation Award is awarded annually by the American Literary Translators Association for literary translators who have made an outstanding contribution to literature in English by masterfully recreating the artistic force of a book of ...

in Prose. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' praised Rojas' "robust and well-paced translation." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called his translation a "model of clarity." Rojas served on the jury of the 2015

Newman Prize for Chinese Literature The Newman Prize for Chinese Literature was established in 2008 by Peter Gries, director of the Institute for U.S.-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. The first major American award for Chinese literature, the Newman Prize, is awarded ev ...

and the 2020

Dream of the Red Chamber Award The Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World's Distinguished Novel in Chinese (紅樓夢獎：世界華文長篇小說獎) is a biennial novel prize presented by Hong Kong Baptist University recognizing Chinese language fiction published both wit ...

. In 2010, Rojas published ''The Great Wall: A Cultural History'' through

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

. The book is a survey of the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...

and its function and significance. In it, Rojas examines allusions to the Wall from various historical texts and cultural works.

Selected bibliography

Books

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Translations

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As editor

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Academic articles

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Carlos 1970 births Living people 21st-century American translators American non-fiction writers American sinologists Chinese–English translators Historians of China Literary translators Cornell University alumni Columbia University alumni Duke University faculty University of Florida faculty Cultural historians People from Atlanta People from Durham, North Carolina