Translation Studies, one of the fastest developing fields in the humanities since the early 1980s, has so far been Euro-centric both in its theoretical explorations and in its historical grounding. One of the major reasons for this is the unavailability of reliable data and systematic analysis of translation activities in non-European cultures. While a number of scholars in the Western tradition of translation studies have become increasingly aware of this bias and its problems, practicality indicates that the burden of addressing such deficiencies and imbalances should be on the shoulders of scholars who are conversant with the non-Western translation traditions and capable of engaging in much-needed basic research.

This book brings together ten scholars with expertise in different Asian translation traditions, who highlight language and cultural environments as well as perceptions and modes of operation often different from those in the Western tradition. Their contributions enhance our understanding of the various elements that influence the transfer of knowledge across cultures and provide invaluable data for the study of translation as a force for cultural development and cultural planning.

Contributors include Eva Hung, Judy Wakabayashi, Lawrence Wang-Chi Wong, Ohsawa Yoshihiro, Theresa Hyun, Keith Taylor, William Cummings, Doris Jedamski, Raniela Barbaza and Rita Kothari.

Eva Hung served for nineteen years as Director of the Research Centre for Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, during which time she promoted the study of Asian translation history. She left the field in mid-2005 to pursue her interests in other areas. Judy Wakabayashi is an associate professor of Japanese translation at Kent State University. Her research interests include the history of translation in Japan.