Text and Context
18-20 December 2025
The Fifth International Conference on Chinese Translation History
CALL FOR PAPERS
(OPEN)
The “International Conference on Chinese Translation History” series, organized by the Research Centre for Translation (RCT), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, explores Chinese translation history within the bigger framework of world civilization and human thought. It aims to lay groundwork for new models, methods, and perspectives in this innovative interdisciplinary branch of learning through detailed case studies. Since 2015, the conference series have been held every two years, with a different central theme for every conference. The fifth conference focuses on the broad spectrum of issues pertaining to the concept of text and context in Chinese translation history.
Since the Cultural Turn in the 1980s, Translation Studies has shifted from a traditional prescriptive paradigm to one that examines the social, historical, and cultural factors influencing translation activities. As Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere pointed out in Translation, History and Culture (1990), translation is not merely a linguistic matter; instead, there is always a context in which the translation takes place, always a history from which a text emerges and into which a text is transposed. This international conference invites scholars to explore the theme of “Text and Context”, focusing on various case studies to investigate the internal elements of translated texts and the contexts in which they are generated, circulated, and received. It aims to examine the influence of ideologies, poetics, and politics on translated texts and contexts, thereby showcasing the complexity and diversity of translation history.
Participants may attend the conference as individuals or members of a panel up to three.
Submission procedures:
Please send the completed application form with an abstract of your paper/panel (no more than 250 words) (click here for the application form) to RCT (translationhistory@cuhk.edu.hk) on or before 15 August 2025. For panels, please also submit one abstract for each individual paper. All abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Academic Committee. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out before 31 August 2025.
Languages of presentation: Putonghua and English
Cost: No registration fees are required. Participants will cover their own travel, food, accommodation, and other costs.