Dong Leshan (; 14 November 192416 January 1999) was a Chinese author and translator. Described as "one of the best and most prolific Chinese translators in the 20th century", he had a career that spanned half a century. He translated numerous English publications into Chinese, including ''
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', ''
The Glory and the Dream
''The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972'' is a 1,400-page social history by William Manchester, first published in 1974. Sometimes sold as two volumes, it describes the history of the United States between 1932 and ...
'', and ''
Red Star Over China''.
Early life
Dong was born on 14 November 1924 in
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
.
While in college, he began translating from English to Chinese works.
[ After graduating from ]St. John's University, Shanghai
St. John's University (SJU) was a Christian university in Shanghai. Founded in 1879 by American missionaries, it was one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, often regarded as the Harvard of China.
After the founding of th ...
with a degree in English in 1946, Dong was hired by Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
as one of the first news translators in the country.[
]
Career
Dong translated '' The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'' by William L. Shirer shortly after it was first published in English. Although its circulation was initially restricted, Dong's translation was widely read and a third edition was published in 1971. In the 1970s, he also translated ''The Glory and the Dream
''The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932–1972'' is a 1,400-page social history by William Manchester, first published in 1974. Sometimes sold as two volumes, it describes the history of the United States between 1932 and ...
'' by William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...
and '' Red Star Over China'' by Edgar Snow, alongside several other historical works. Dong produced the most translations in his sixties, when he was working at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies. He also wrote numerous essays on the problems of translating from English to Chinese.
Death
Having worked as a translator for over fifty years, Dong died on 16 January 1999 in Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.[
]
Reception
Dong was accused of being a "Rightist
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...
" during the Anti-Rightist Campaign
The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged "Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was l ...
in 1957. He was persecuted again during the Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
(1966–1976). Nonetheless, he was well received by the Chinese literati. In 1994, Dong received the Sino-American Literary Exchange Award for his contributions to translation in China.[ According to Yuwu Song in the ''Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China'', Dong was "one of the best and most prolific Chinese translators in the 20th century".
]
References
Citations
Works cited
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dong, Leshan
1924 births
1999 deaths
20th-century Chinese translators
20th-century Chinese writers
People from Ningbo