| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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If totalitarianism is only ever aspirational, authoritarianism is more commonly to be found in actual life across a wide range of political and social regimes. In English, although not in Chinese, the term authoritarianism is closely related to words such as author, authenticity, authority, and authorization. Although the connection between the words may exist only in English, it is not a verbal accident: all of these words are associated with ownership, power, and control. An authorized translation is one that has been approved by the original author or the author’s heirs or representatives. An authoritative translation, on the other hand, is one that appears to readers and critics to have a claim to authenticity based on qualities that are largely provided by the publisher and the translator, who establish authority through devices such as prefaces, footnotes, and the citation of experts as well as through the translator’s skill or prestige. Authenticity in literary translation at its simplest is a quality residing in the host text with respect to its representation of the source or donor text. Authentication is an institutional act that can effect a change in the status of a host text, that is, to eliminate its existence as a translation.20
The concepts of authority, authenticity, and authoritativeness are crucial aspects of religious, medical, legal, and financial translations, where the consequences can be serious and even fatal. In literary translation, the term authoritative is less common but can be used, for example, for a first translation into the host language of a donor text that is famous even in the host culture.21 The consequences of (un)authorized and (non)authoritative translations of literary works are not normally severe, yet readers still display anxiety about unauthorized translations and critics deplore nonauthoritative ones. Associated questions of legitimacy, trust, expertise, and power are also relevant to authority and authorization. Part 1 considers whether translation in an authoritarian state is necessarily authorized and authoritative.
State-sponsored translation is in turn linked with the concept of authorization, with the state acting as the authority through which translations are commissioned and published. There are many kinds of state sponsorship, from full control over the translation process from selection (or non-selection) to publication (or non-publication) and distribution