Publisher withdraws poems over public spat
Print Edition
A CHINESE translation of “Stray Birds,” a collection of poems by Indian Nobel Literature Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, has been withdrawn after it sparked wide controversy.
Despite being highly regarded by its Chinese fans, the version by writer Feng Tang shocked readers with its racy word choices.
In one instance, Feng translates Tagore’s line “The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover” to “The world unzipped his pants in front of his lover.”
As a result of the controversy, Zhejiang Wenyi Publishing House, which published the translated version, said yesterday it would remove all copies from sale and recall those already sold.
A person on Sina Weibo said the translation was “a blasphemy against a classic.”
Children’s author Zhang Hong called Feng’s translation a “cultural terrorist attack against young readers.”
As “Stray Birds” has always been recommended to Chinese students, Zhang feared the new translation would “poison teenagers” and called for the book’s withdrawal.
Not everyone was so enraged, however.
Weibo user “Miaoyemiao” wrote: “Like it or not, buy it or not, readers can make their own choice.”
Some people blamed the publishing house for failing to carefully edit the translation.
Feng responded by telling local media that history would be his judge and that people should let time decide.
The 44-year-old said he intentionally added his personal style to the translation instead of mechanically representing the original work.
Feng is best known for a series of provocative novels about life in Beijing in the 1990s.
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