Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling
A large number of transcultural fictions appeared in the 18th century, providing us with an important entry into discussing the task of comparative literature today. The 18th-century Oriental tales, stories authored by European writers that adapted from or modeled themselves after loose translations...
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Firenze University Press
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Diciottesimo Secolo |
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| Online Access: | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15453 |
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| author | Wen Jin |
| author_facet | Wen Jin |
| author_sort | Wen Jin |
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| description | A large number of transcultural fictions appeared in the 18th century, providing us with an important entry into discussing the task of comparative literature today. The 18th-century Oriental tales, stories authored by European writers that adapted from or modeled themselves after loose translations of folk tales from the East, practiced a kind of mental shapeshifting, blurring the boundaries between East and West. The same kind of cross-cultural identification is visible in many other literary narratives from the same period, indicative of a fluid, universalist politics regarding Europe’s relations with the Orient that requires reevaluation. 18th-century transcultural fictions suggest a few tactics for mediating between the necessity of establishing grounds of comparison and the need to draw distinctions. In its search for ways of breaking through the stronghold of cultural nationalism, comparative literature in its contemporary incarnation does well to rethink Enlightenment universalism as encoded in the literary landscape of 18th century Europe. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d85d93b38d3d43b3adcae0ed7dbf2a13 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2531-4165 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diciottesimo Secolo |
| spelling | doaj-art-d85d93b38d3d43b3adcae0ed7dbf2a132025-07-22T09:48:54ZengFirenze University PressDiciottesimo Secolo2531-41652025-06-01717810.36253/ds-1545314290Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural StorytellingWen Jin0East China Normal University, ChinaA large number of transcultural fictions appeared in the 18th century, providing us with an important entry into discussing the task of comparative literature today. The 18th-century Oriental tales, stories authored by European writers that adapted from or modeled themselves after loose translations of folk tales from the East, practiced a kind of mental shapeshifting, blurring the boundaries between East and West. The same kind of cross-cultural identification is visible in many other literary narratives from the same period, indicative of a fluid, universalist politics regarding Europe’s relations with the Orient that requires reevaluation. 18th-century transcultural fictions suggest a few tactics for mediating between the necessity of establishing grounds of comparison and the need to draw distinctions. In its search for ways of breaking through the stronghold of cultural nationalism, comparative literature in its contemporary incarnation does well to rethink Enlightenment universalism as encoded in the literary landscape of 18th century Europe.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15453 18th centuryenlightenmentuniversalismtranslation |
| spellingShingle | Wen Jin Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling Diciottesimo Secolo 18th century enlightenment universalism translation |
| title | Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling |
| title_full | Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling |
| title_fullStr | Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling |
| title_short | Revisiting Enlightenment Universalism: 18th-Century Lessons on Nonliteral Translations and Transcultural Storytelling |
| title_sort | revisiting enlightenment universalism 18th century lessons on nonliteral translations and transcultural storytelling |
| topic | 18th century enlightenment universalism translation |
| url | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/article/view/15453 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wenjin revisitingenlightenmentuniversalism18thcenturylessonsonnonliteraltranslationsandtransculturalstorytelling |