From a “pornographic” book to a classic

Paratexts of Chinese translations of Lolita

Ge Bai
Durham University

This article aims to investigate the relationship between paratexts and the
translation product with a case study of Lolita translations in China. Since
Lolita has been one of the most frequently retranslated literary works in
China over the past three decades, it can serve as a bellwether of the changes
that have taken place in the translation field as well as those in the social,
cultural and historical context. Therefore, a comparative study of the para-
textual elements of Lolita translations acts as a reflection of the negotiations
between the translation activity and the changing socio-political context.
The analysis of paratexts locates translation as a social activity in which
many agents are involved other than simply the translator and the source
text. Through their organic integration with the translation products, the
paratextual elements, functioning as genre indicators, work to promote the
translation while potentially predicting its target readership. In the transla-
tion and retranslation of the same source text, a discussion of the paratexts
may provide new insights into understanding the relationship between
translations and retranslations as well as the evolution of the translation
field in relation to Chinese society.

Keywords: paratext, Lolita translations in China, (re)translation and the

market, target readership, genre indicator

1. Paratextual elements and the translation of Lolita in China

In the study of translation and retranslation, what should not be forgotten is that
the translation product does not only exist in the form of the lingual text produced
by the translator. Most published translations, and even many unpublished ones,
are presented with various paratexts as a physical package or (in)visible coat.
These include “promotional materials, blurbs, introductions, notes, afterwords,
reviews and the like” (Alvstad and Rosa 2015: 14). They “enable a text to become
a book and to be offered as such to its readers and, more generally, to the public”

https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00071.bai | Published online: 22 February 2019

Babel 64:5/6 (2018), pp. 671–691. issn 0521-9744 | e‑issn 1569-9668 © John Benjamins Publishing Company
672 Ge Bai

and are like a “threshold” to the text (Genette 1997: 1). As these paratextual
elements are the readers’ first encounter with the work, their design plays a key
role in interpreting and promoting the translation. Therefore, paratexts should be
viewed by translation studies as a key aspect of the final translation product.
One of the most valuable approaches to the study of paratexts involves a case
study in which contrasting examples can facilitate an understanding of how para-
texts function. In the translation history of contemporary China, it is Lolita with
at least 16 versions that stand out as a supreme paratextual exemplar.
Apart from Lolita’s status as one of the most frequently translated works
throughout the whole translation history of China, there are many other reasons
that make it an important translation milestone. The various retranslated versions
are the products of different historical periods and are infused with the spirit of
their time, acting as bellwethers of the commercial, political and social changes
that have occurred in the translation field in China. Research into translations of
Lolita in China reveals the impact of significant historical events on the transla-
tion field. From the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that took place from
the 1960s to 1970s, which left deep scars on the later development of culture to
the Reform and Opening-up policy in the 1980s and 1990s that paved the way for
the introduction of foreign literary and artworks, to China’s accession to the WTO
that brought new life to the operation of the publishing industry and other related
fields, the translations of Lolita have played the role of witness and participant in
the flow of history.
Although Lolita as a literary work is mostly known for its morally question-
able theme and erotic content, it has enjoyed a significant impact on contempo-
rary Chinese language and culture. It has been both passively received and actively
borrowed by the language system; the products of Lolita culture have been incor-
porated into the daily speech of the Chinese people. For example, the word “Luólì”
(萝莉) in Chinese refers to a young girl between “8 to 15 years old with beautiful
dresses, a child-like voice and… a sweet appearance” (Liu Shusheng 2010: 14). It is
a shortened form of “Lolita” and it has almost become a replacement of the word
“xiǎo nǚhái” (小女孩, meaning “young girl”) in people’s daily oral speech. Other
derivatives include “Luólìkòng” (萝莉控), referring to men who have a partic-
ular interest in pretty young girls. Other forms of influence include the develop-
ment of a characteristic dress code, broadly referring to dresses in a Victorian style
with decorations made of “lace, spun silk, knitted fabric, ribbon, appliques and
flounces” (Liu Moran 2013: 17). Over the years, Lolita as a subculture has emerged
in Asian countries like Japan and China in parallel to the translations of the orig-
inal literary work.
While Lolita as a literary and translated work has become part of Chinese
everyday culture, academic interest has been more limited. Most academic writing
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 673

on the translation of Lolita appeared after 2000 and is relatively limited in scope.
The major themes of the research papers are often unclear and quite repetitive.
Based on the findings of the literature review for this paper, most of the studies
have been conducted in a product-oriented and translator-oriented way, and typi-
cally include the linguistic features and cultural background of the translation
texts, together with a discussion of some of the decisions made by the translators
and the possible reasons behind them. Although some of the papers have centred
on translation theories from the cultural turn and use a descriptive research
method, there are still many which discuss it in a prescriptive way using terms
such as “good” and “bad”, “should” and “should not” as their keywords.
As most of the current research focuses on the textual features of Lolita trans-
lation with little attention paid to the paratextual elements, except for s study
conducted by Pei Jieting. In her thesis The Influence of Patronage on Literary Trans-
lation in China’s New Epoch – A Case Study of the Translation of Lolita, the cover
designs, blurbs, subtitles and forewords of several translated versions of Lolita are
included as research topics and analysed from the perspective of their commer-
cial and promotional functions. According to Pei’s research, publishers are able to
“guide the consumers’ decisions” by “their penetrating insight and packaging of
the published work” (Pei Jieting 2011: 26). At the same time, she also concludes
that publishers should consult mainstream ideology when promoting their prod-
ucts in order to “justify their legal positions” in the market (Pei Jieting 2011: 25).
Pei’s research is valuable in offering a preliminary overview of the relationship
between the publisher, the market and the political environment. The transforma-
tion of Lolita from a work of popular fiction to a serious literary classic is also
charted by Pei through concrete examples taken from the paratexts of different
translations of Lolita. However, the differences in cover design are considered
mainly from a commercial perspective, as a way to manipulate the market.
Although it is true that profit is undoubtedly a priority in most cases, it is still
important to acknowledge that changes in promotional strategy are complex
reflections of the changes in the market environment, translation field and cultural
background. In addition to her reductive interpretation of the publishers’ deci-
sions in paratext design, Pei’s discussion is restricted to the topic of the commer-
cial value of the translation product without giving much consideration to the
development of the translation fields revealed by the paratextual designs. As her
analysis is solely focused on the paratextual elements that portray the erotic
features of Lolita, she has neglected the way in which different functions of the
translation are revealed. Therefore, her research views the translation product as a
passive acceptance of the political and social environment instead of considering
the translation field as a system with its own way of interacting with the outside
world. Furthermore, she also seems to adopt a negative attitude towards the topic,
674 Ge Bai

describing the change of style for the latest translation as “fabricating reasons to
rethink, purchase and read the book” and saying that “the dangerous Lolita has
become normal fare to most Chinese people” (Pei Jieting 2011: 33). Although Lolita
as a controversial piece of literary work has had dozens of labels put on it, it is
not appropriate for an academic researcher to be manipulated by such labels and
abandon an objective attitude in the investigation.
Therefore, this research aims to study the function and influence of the para-
textual designs of Lolita translations from the perspective that these elements
are the outcome of the historical, social and cultural contexts rather than being
explicable solely in terms of profit-seeking since it is realized that translations as
“symbolic goods are of two-faced reality, a commodity and a symbolic object”
with their “commercial value” and “cultural value” (Bourdieu 1993: 113). At the
same time, the analysis of the paratextual features is interwoven with the related
context to build a connection between the micro-level multi-semiotic elements
and the macro-level social phenomena. Thus, this research views the study of the
paratexts as a way of reconstructing the position of the translation field at different
historical moments and observing how they have contributed to the development
of the translation field at the present time.

2. Methodology

Of the 16 (and more) versions of Lolita translation, 10 have been chosen for study
with the discussion carried out diachronically. Of these 10 translations, the earliest
five were published in Mainland China in the 1980s. The other five were published
in the 1990s and 2005. For the purposes of this research, attention is focused on
the most representative texts of each time period to highlight the features of the
paratexts while using the other versions as supporting materials.
In looking at the paratextual materials, primarily three questions are raised.
The most basic one concerns how each translation is presented to the readers by
their respective paratexts; or, in other words, how the paratexts identify the trans-
lation product in the target culture. This question involves a detailed analysis of
the specific strategies being used in the design of the book jacket. The second
question focuses on the heterogeneous interactions of the paratexts with the
social environment that enable the translation product to suit the target culture.
As publishers consciously or subconsciously operate under the influence of the
changing social context and shift their promotional strategies, the third question,
which concerns how the relationship between the translation field, the target
culture and the readership is projected on to the paratexts, comes to the surface.
Although it is reckless to assume that paratexts of Lolita translation can function
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 675

as a generalization of the whole field, there is no doubt that we can gain an under-
standing of how an erotic translation work interacts with its changing social, polit-
ical and commercial environment by answering these questions.
As the paratexts include both textual elements and other forms of semiotics
such as colours and images, the analysis of these objects requires more than one
approach. The primary approach is inspired by a method proposed by Gerard
Genette who suggests that paratexts can be studied from their “spacial, temporal,
substantial, pragmatic, and functional characteristics” (Genette 1997: 4). Specifi-
cally, the method is to discuss a paratextual element by “determining its location
(the question where?); the date of its appearance and, if need be, its disappear-
ance (when?); its mode of existence (how?); the characteristics of its situation
of communication – its sender and addressee (from whom? to whom?); and the
functions that its message aims to fulfil (to do what?)” (Genette 1997: 4). To this
framework, a further approach specifically related to the study of images needs
to be added.
The images and other features of the book cover can be seen as offering an
intersemiotic translation of the text. Gillian Rose’s methodology proves to be very
helpful in the analysis of the social influence of the images as well as its relation-
ship with the readers. This framework allows the researcher to see the image from
its origin all the way to its potential influence by including three sites, namely,
“the site of production, the site of the image itself… and the site where the image
encounters its spectators or users, or what this book will call its audiencing”
(Rose 2012: 19). Furthermore, the author has added three modalities or aspects in
analysing each site: the “technological, compositional, and social” (Rose 2012: 20).
Although all these sites and modalities are necessary to understanding the
meaning and influence of the visual product, some aspects of this framework
may outweigh others in achieving the aims of this Lolita-oriented research. For
example, the technology issue might not be a priority in such discussions since
the photographic skills or the type of camera does not play a big role in guiding
readers’ first impressions. By contrast, as the image on the book cover functions
to “provide visual information” that allows the readers to “choose to read the book
or discard of it” and to “remind the reader of what he already knows of the text”
(Sonzongni 2011: 16), it is necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of the compo-
sition of the image in order to see what is highlighted and what is omitted in the
visual elements and what strategies have been used to present the text. At the same
time, as the book cover “give[s] an impression of its (the book’s) genre, its tone
and the kind of audience it seeks” (Matthews and Moody 2007: xi), it is the case
that the book cover is seeking readers while the readers are seeking the cover that
looks most appealing to them. Thus, the social impact and interpretation of the
book cover is also one of the key points in this research.
676 Ge Bai

An integration of these research methods in paratextual study, visual study

and textual analysis makes it possible to form a more complete picture of the
features in book cover design to see how it has evolved over the years. What can
be found during the process may also prove to be inspiring in the textual analysis
of the translation products.

3. Lolita as a “pornographic” book

When Lolita was first introduced into China, the recipient culture was in a
state of change and exploration. The appearance of Lolita inflamed the already-
complex situation of that time and provoked reactions from many harsh critics
in return. Moreover, the current status of the fields of politics and literature could
be seen both as a challenge and an opportunity for the translation and publica-
tion of Lolita.
The initial publication of a Lolita translation in Mainland China in the 1980s
suffered a delay as the result of another event in Chinese publishing history.
Prior to the release of any Lolita translations, another similar erotic novel, Lady
Chatterley’s Lover, was severely criticised and banned in China, and the editor
of Hunan People’s Publishing House, Zhu Zheng, was “fired and given a major
demerit record” (Xinhua Net 2006) in 1986. Therefore, the project to publish
Lolita was put off until 1989 since publishers had considered it a huge risk to
attempt this in such an intense social and political atmosphere (Xinhua Net 2006).
The recipient culture was apparently unprepared to view positively literary works
known for their erotic contents, hence there was no guarantee that a Lolita trans-
lation could gain acceptance in the wake of the earlier publication attempt.
However, the comparatively harsh political climate did not mean that there
was no appetite for a Lolita translation and similar works. On the contrary,
people’s curiosity was greatly aroused after the relaxation of the draconian
control exerted during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Throughout
those ten dark years, the intense political environment had made “literature and
art [go] to extremes and to become just a political symbol” (Jiang Fang 2005: 4)
to serve as tools to promote an ultra-left political ideology. By the late 1980s,
“Chinese people, who had just woken up from the nightmare of the Cultural
Revolution, were impatiently desiring to know about the outside world with
great passion and excitement” (Chen Xiaoping: 2014). During this post-trau-
matic period, a significant amount of foreign literature on different themes and
topics was translated and brought to the Chinese market. These included some
literary works on morally sensitive topics that were considered taboo before 1975.
Lolita, as one of the major representatives of these works, acts as a witness to the
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 677

changes that took place and continue to take place in the political and cultural
environment of China.
1989 was an outstanding year in which four different translations of Lolita was
published:

Table 1. Four translations of Lolita in 1989

Translator Publisher Year
Huang Jianren Lijiang Publishing House 1989
Yu Xiaodan Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House 1989
Mai Sui Haitian Press 1989
Kong Xiaojiong and Peng Xiaofeng Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House 1989

Against the backdrop of political censorship and opposition to the promo-

tion of morally-dubious works of foreign literature, the paratexts of Lolita trans-
lations of this time appear to hedge their bets in order to maximize the works’
appeal among disparate audiences. To take Huang Jianren’s translation as a
typical example:

Figure 1. Huang Jianren’s translation of Lolita, Lijiang Publishing House, 1989

At first sight, what catches the readers’ eyes is the photographic image domi-
nating the middle of the front cover as shown in Figure 1. A half-dressed woman
with her facial expression hidden from the audience as she slightly bows her
head occupies most of the space. This gesture implies that the person does not
conduct any active communication with the audience. This scene reflects an image
described in the book whereby the main character, Mr Humbert has a habit of
peeking through the window and observing his female neighbours. However, the
678 Ge Bai

lack of emotional connection does not mean that the observer is completely cut
off from the object. By viewing her own body, the woman in the picture is shown
as joining the group of the viewers. This transfer of identification suggests that the
woman might be “aware of being seen by a spectator” (John Berger 1972: 49) and
is drawing in the audience. At the same time, the female figure in this illustra-
tion displays the voluptuousness of an adult woman despite the fact that Lolita is
supposed to be a twelve-year-old girl. This age infidelity is another obvious feature
of many cover designs for the earlier translations of Lolita.
Once this translation was released to the public, the cover design was heavily
criticised by many parties, including the actual translator, who condemned the
design as “very pornographic” (Xinhua Net 2006). Whether the illustration is
positively or negatively viewed with its erotic tone, it is highly likely that potential
readers would instantly categorize the genre of the work even without reading it.
This first impression can be either reinforced or reduced by the accompanying
subtitle and blurbs.
Suggestions of eroticism can also be found in the blurbs, with words such as
“an abnormal love affair in a foreign land and a panorama of all people” (异乡
变态情，芸芸众生梦 yìxiāng biàntài qíng, yúnyún-zhòngshēng mèng), “from a
much criticised banned book to a universally acknowledged classic” (从备受责
难的禁书到举世公认的经典 cóng bèishòu zénàn de jìnshū dào jǚshì gōngrèn de
jīngdiǎn) and “it was condemned as a highly immoral pornography” (被斥为大
逆不道的淫书 bèi chì wéi dànì-bùdào de yínshū). With such words, the publisher
directly points out that the story is beyond the bounds of moral acceptability in
the local cultural context and that the readers are about to encounter something
unusual, even shocking, in their reading experience. This “operative text” (Reiss
quoted by Munday 2012: 112) goes beyond the communicative function to achieve
the purpose of persuading the readers to buy the product. Although they are not
part of the source text and not connected with the original author or publisher,
they undoubtedly function as important intermediaries between the readers and
the story.
However, this kind of shock effect may be eased by the visible effort at censor-
ship in the paratexts. As stated in the subtitle, Lolita is a “Widower’s Remorseful
Confession” (鳏夫忏悔录 Guānfū chànhǔi lù). Apart from the fact that the subtitle
is not a faithful summary of the source text in so far as Mr Humbert does not
show much regret over his behaviour, the subtitle transfers an extra message
to the readers by intertextually relating it to some traditional Chinese works.
Throughout Chinese history, many erotic and banned literary works have
contained the idea of retribution in their titles, subtitles or forewords. For
example, the well-known erotic novel called The Carnal Prayer Mat (肉蒲团 Ròu
pútuán) written during the Qing Dynasty by the playwright Li Yu. This blatant
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 679

title carries a subtitle stating that this is a story of Retribution (循环报 Xúnhuán
bào). Due to the low status of the field of fictional literary works in traditional
China, the erotic materials were usually packaged as works with didactic mean-
ings. Similarly, the claim that Lolita is the confessions of a widower rather than the
perversion of a paedophile, as described in the source text, suggests that there is
some mitigation for the erotic content of the book; this can be seen as a fig-leaf of
respectability by the publisher.
Apart from changing the theme of the story, the blurb also highlights the
communicative function of the translation. By positioning it as a “must read to
understand Western society” (了解西方社会必读 liǎojiě xīfāng shèhuì bìdú), the
promotional strategy efficiently reacts to the demands of the potential readers
and the market. During the Cultural Revolution, “a slump in book publishing
occurred” (Liu Hongping 2011: 6), especially of non-Chinese works, and as a
result, Chinese people became increasingly interested in knowing about the
outside world once permitted by the political environment. Lolita, functioning
as a bridge between the target readers and the source culture as promised in the
blurb, presents itself with a more educational purpose to fulfil the demands of
the market while the shocking effect in presenting Lolita as a pornography-like
literary work is slightly muted.
Likewise, the tension between the promotion of erotic content and self-
censorship by the publisher (to avoid the work being banned) can also be found in
other versions in the 1980s. The blurb for Mai Sui’s translation describes Lolita as
“a perverted love story between a middle-aged male and a teenage girl” (一个中
年男子与少女的畸恋 yīgè zhōngnián nánzǐ yǔ shàonǚ de jīliàn) while affirming
that the work is a “bestseller with a great popularity in Europe and America”
(风靡欧美的畅销书 fēngmí ōuměi de chàngxiāoshū). The subtitle of Hua Ming
and Ren Shengming’s translation describes Lolita as a “degenerate and morbid
love” (堕落与病态的爱; duòluò yǔ bìngtài de ài), while Kong Xiaojiong and Peng
Xiaofeng’s translation quotes comments from The New York Times that interpret
Lolita as “a work of great interest and sadness” (一部最有趣、最哀伤的作品;
yībù zùi yǒuqù zuì āishāng de zuòpǐn). The illustrations mostly retain an explicit
style, in which the sexual attractiveness of a young female is deliberately revealed
to the readers.
In the paratexts of the earliest Lolita translations, the seesaw struggle
between the promotion of the erotic features and censorship-evasion strategies
potentially illustrates a refusal to engage in a reductive classification of this
literary work. Although readers’ attention might easily be guided towards the
erotic aspects, the publishers still consciously or unconsciously leave space for
multiple interpretations. What they present to the readers is a literary work
that is labelled “a banned book”, a story of “degenerate and morbid love” and
680 Ge Bai

Figure 2. Mai Sui’s translation of Lolita, Haitian Publishing House, 1989

Figure 3. Hua Ming and Ren Shengming’s translation of Lolita, Hebei People’s Press, 1989

a “highly immoral pornography” while claiming that it offers a chance to learn

about Western society, being “a universally acknowledged classic” and “a work of
great interest and sadness”. These seemingly paradoxical ideas provide the audi-
ence with multiple perspectives before and during their reading experience of
the text. In addition, the multidimensional claims, appealing to all tastes of the
paratext, seem designed to widen the scope of the target readership.
Speaking of the scope of the readership, the paratexts to the translations of
the 1980s also drop hints about their potential target readers although these are
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 681

not directly stated. As explained in Huang Jianren’s translation blurb, Lolita is a

book that is “highly readable” (可读性很强; kědúxìng hěn qiáng), assuring readers
they will enjoy a relatively relaxed reading experience. Since the paratexts present
Lolita as a popular piece of literature with the purpose of entertainment and
cultural communication, it can be gathered that the publishers were targeting
the general public who were not necessarily highly educated or from a literary
background by using the paratext as a “genre indication” (Genette 1997: 1) which
provides the consumer with a “motivation to purchase” (SAPPRFT1 2015: 263).
Although some of the blurbs made it clear that the source text was considered a
classic worldwide, the way in which it was presented to Chinese readers at that
time meant that the erotic aspects were still considered its most marketable aspect.

4. Lolita in transition

Lolita translations in the 1990s share a common feature that is considered unac-
ceptable and illegal in today’s context: plagiarism. However, the publishing
industry in the 1990s in China suffered from “a lack of management experience,
which led to chaotic management”, while “legal understanding in the publishing
industry was deficient” (Diao Qiwu 2005: 520). Consequently, the early success of
Lolita translation made the book a victim of commercial malpractices. When it
came to the paratextual elements, many of the design concepts were also adjusted
reflecting the altered context of the new age.
Among the four versions that were published in the 1990s and 2000, two of
them inherited the explicit style as found in earlier paratexts and even took this
to greater extremes while the other two adopted a new strategy in presenting
and interpreting Lolita. Although the erotic features were still prominent in the
promotional materials, the shifts in paratextual design also suggest that some
publishers had started to push it towards a different genre.

Table 2. Four translations of Lolita in the 1990s and 2000

Translator Publisher Year
Ning Geliang Zhongyuan Nongmin Press 1995
Yu Xiaodan and Liao Shiqi The Time Literature and Art Press 1997
Wu Yujun Dunhuang Wenyi Press 1999
Yu Xiaodan Yilin Press 2000

1. SAPPRFT: State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the
People’s Republic of China
682 Ge Bai

On the one hand, Lolita is described as “the indecent love between an adult
male and a teenage girl, including sexual emotions, sexual fantasies and sexual
behaviours” (公然描写一个成年男子对一个未成年少女的性情惑、性想象及
性场面的不伦之恋; gōngrán miáoxiě yīgè chéngnián nánzǐ duì yīgè wèichéng-
nián shàoňǚ de xìng qínghuò xìng xiǎngxiàng jí xìng chǎngmiàn de bùlún zhī
liàn) and a “very well-known illicit publication” (家喻户晓的非法出版物; jiāyù-
hùxiǎo de fēifǎ chūbǎnwù) in the blurbs of Wu Yujun’s translation. These provide
greater detail to indicate the relationship between the main characters more
explicitly while the contrast between “an adult male” and “a teenage girl” intensify
the shock effect. At the same time, the erotic features of Lolita were also acknowl-
edged by other publishers since the book had been “rejected by four publishing
houses in America, considered as an obscene work” (美国四间出版社都认为
这本小说内容淫秽而拒绝出版; měiguó sì jiān chūbǎnshè dōu rènwéi zhè běn
xiǎoshuō nèiróng yínhuì ér jùjué chūbǎn). In addressing the morally dubious
aspects of the source text, the paratexts mention little about the aesthetic values
and other characteristics of Lolita. The same situation can be found in Ning
Geliang’s translation.
By contrast, Yu Xiaodan and Liao Shiqi’s translation credits Lolita as being
“the only compelling love story of this century” (本世纪以来唯一令人信服的
爱情故事; běn shìjì yǐlái wéiyī lìngrén xìnfú de àiqíng gùshì) and “one of the
greatest art works in the 20th century” (被誉为20世纪最伟大的艺术作品之一;
bèi yù wéi èrshí shìjì zuì wěidà de yìshùpǐn zhīyī). It can be detected that the
different promotional strategies of Lolita denote an implied shift in genre from
a pornography-like popular literary work to a more serious work of art. In the
meanwhile, the identities of Mr Humbert and Lolita also differ from their earlier
images. Instead of picturing Mr Humbert as a “widower” or a paedophile, the
blurb in this version focuses on his professional side as a “member of the intel-
ligentsia” (知识分子; zhīshi fènzǐ), since he worked as a teacher in a college.
Compared to the earlier translations and the source text itself, this characterisa-
tion pictures Mr Humbert in a much more positive way since the intelligentsia
has long been considered a more privileged class in law and in politics in China,
and one that “also possessed academic authority” throughout history (Xu Jilin
2010: 74). Although the position of intelligentsia has changed over the years into
a more “uneasy and weakened” group (Meng Fanhua 2005: 12) due to the post-
traumatic effect of the Cultural Revolution, the public still maintained a respectful
attitude towards them. The suggestion that Mr Humbert was from a relatively
higher class may create a more serious tone to the work and provoke the interest
of readers from the same societal group.
At the same time, the image of Lolita has also changed. Historically, Lolita
was always pictured as a “sexy young girl” (性感少女; xìnggǎn shàonǚ) and
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 683

was well known for her voluptuousness. However, in this version of translation,
Lolita is shorn of this characteristic and has become a “little fairy” (小仙女;
xiǎo xiānnǚ). This transformation further mitigates the morally dubious features
of the source text since a fairy in Chinese tradition portrays someone who has
“the qualities of kindness and strong-will as well as a spirit of self-sacrifice”
(Ma Xiong 2012: 204). This shift from a slightly satirized character to a culturally
praised figure intertextually allows the reader to recreate their image of Lolita
based on their own culture on the one hand while signalling that this work can
be repositioned in a different genre.
This divergence in paratext design can be detected in the images presented on
the book cover. It can be seen that some translations still retained an explicit style
while others conveyed a note of classicism, as shown in Figure 4 and 5:

Figure 4. Wu Yujun’s translation of Lolita, Dunhuang Wenyi Press, 1999

In Figure 4, the female character takes up about one-third of the space of the
poster-like front cover. The subject also suggests a state of nakedness with her
bare shoulders, arms and legs. At the same time, her facial expression is clearly
revealed to the audience making it possible to build up an emotional connection
between the viewers and the viewed. As the subject puts herself both physically
and psychologically in a lower position by looking up to the viewers, she might
create a sense of vulnerability by her gesture. The mixture of sexual provocation
and evocation of sympathy enriches the figure of the character, and may echo with
people’s previous images of the character’s features.
684 Ge Bai

Figure 5. Yu Xiaodan and Liao Shiqi’s translation of Lolita, The Time Literature and Art
Press, 1997

However, while most of the covers adopt a real photo to illustrate the protago-
nist, the image on the front cover of Yu Xiaodan and Liao Shiqi’s translation reveals
a different approach. Although the subject is still a woman with loose clothes, the
picture is a classic Western painting rather than a photograph. On the one hand,
the painted art object suggests that the image is fictional while the gesture of the
subject is clearly more reserved compared to the above versions. At the same time,
it can be found that the size of the image is also much smaller than the previous
ones and it seems that the edge of the picture blends into the background colour
of the cover as a whole. With its cultured and obscure tone, the picture looks more
distant to the readers avoiding intimate communication. This more implicit design
style portrays Lolita more as a reserved and mysterious figure.
At the same time, the classic style epitomised by the Western painting is
also an indication of the possible genre of the translation. Unlike earlier versions
whereby the translation is positioned as a popular piece of literature or perhaps
even pornography, this cover design associates Lolita with a traditional and clas-
sical art work, which potentially pushing it away from the realm of popular litera-
ture into the genre of more serious literature. This shift is also a signal that Chinese
society had started to see this literary work in a different light during that time.
While the paratextual elements in the 1980s and 1990s present the work using
various strategies, there are still some common characteristics we can point to
in our analysis. In the first place, no matter how the translation is interpreted
by the paratext, whether in the form of a positive comment or a negative judge-
ment, the publisher seems to place great emphasis on the introductory remarks
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 685

to the readers to create a ready reception with the essential aim to include as
much information as possible within the limited space on the front and back
covers. The strategy of contextualization and intertextuality sufficiently reduces
the distance between this morally-questionable piece of foreign fiction and the
cultural demands of the receiving society at that time.
In the second place, the translations of Lolita were not promoted as works of
translation in the early years: there is little mention of the features of the transla-
tion or the profile of the translator(s) in the paratexts. Although there are sugges-
tions in the paratextual elements that the book is originally a non-Chinese text,
little is said about the fact that a process of translation links the source text and the
target text. The invisibility of the translation and the translator may suggest that
the translation field was not paid much attention and that it occupied a relatively
peripheral position in society at that time. At the same time, it is a further genre
indication where the main consideration is the content of the book and its enter-
tainment or communicative function while the language features or the quality of
the translation do not feature.

5. Lolita as a classic

It is not difficult to perceive, judged simply by the paratextual elements, that the
latest translation of Lolita by Zhu Wan (Shanghai Translation Publishing House
2005) is a witness to great changes in Chinese society. From the decorative picture
to the blurbs, the book jacket of this version reflects the shifts in design concepts
and style, which in turn reflect different promotional strategies and readers’ inter-
pretations of the Lolita translation. Compared to the earlier translations that
coexisted over the previous 20 years in a relatively low-key approach, the latest
translation was presented as a special event distinguishing it from other versions
and displaying a highly negative attitude towards the existing translations of Lolita
in its paratext.
For example, the latest Lolita was presented as “the first complete Chinese
translation over the past 50 years since the birth of the original work” (原著
问世五十年以来第一部中文全译本; yuánzhù wènshì wǔshínián yǐlái dìyī bù
zhōngwén quán yì běn). By using the word “first”, the blurb claims a special
status for the new translation. Furthermore, the word “complete” also implies a
confrontation with the various retranslations. Ever since Lolita was introduced
into the Chinese market, the faithfulness and completeness of its translations have
always been one of the central issues. As the book is known for its eroticism,
it is natural for readers to assume that parts may have been cut due to possible
censorship carried out by the publishers or the translator(s). Therefore, to stress
686 Ge Bai

the completeness is to suggest the adequacy of this translation on the one hand,
and to provoke readers’ doubts about the incompleteness of the earlier translations
on the other.
Apart from highlighting these two significant features, the blurb also
addresses the profile of the translator, which is another factor that differentiates
this version from the earlier ones. By declaring that this Lolita is “the latest
authoritative annotated version by the senior translator Zhu Wan” (资深翻译家
主万先生最新注释版 zīshēn fānyìjiā zhǔwàn xiānsheng zuìxīn zhùshì bǎn), the
quality of the translation is further assured by the reputation of the translator. By
promoting Lolita as a high-quality translation, the publisher has moved beyond
the phase in which the focus was mainly put on the entertainment value of this
literary work and progressed to a stage where the features of the language and the
reputation of the translator are seen as major selling points. This shift in promo-
tional strategy conveys the idea of a possible change in the book’s genre, which in
turn narrows down or alters the range of the target readership. When the impor-
tance of how the book is translated outweighs its erotic and entertaining aspects,
it may be assumed that the target readership is those who put their interest in
the aesthetic and literary value of the translation with a prior knowledge of what
the story is about. Through this process, the paratext might be more appealing to
people with a higher educational background or to those who are engaged in a
related field of study.
This vague hint is further enhanced by the blurb that appears on the back
cover. The quoted sentences clearly declare the significance of Lolita with its
“ethical impact on the serious reader” (Nabokov 2000: 5) and remind us of “the
task of bringing up a better generation in a safer world” (Nabokov 2000: 6).
Furthermore, “parents, social workers, educators” (Nabokov 2000: 7) should be
more aware of the connotations of Lolita. Instead of being a semi-pornographic
literary work that paradoxically makes the reader both curious and shy away,
Lolita is reframed as a much more serious piece of work that should appeal to
professionals in the fields of education and social services.
This tendency to go upmarket is also revealed in the decorative illustrations
on the book jacket. Compared to the explicit styles of the earlier stages, this cover
design seems to be highly implicit and indicative:
In this modernist front cover design, the human figure is replaced by a more
symbolic picture of a flower in a vase-like bottle. It is not difficult to interpret the
little white flower as a possible reference to the character Lolita with its implica-
tion of innocence and vulnerability. As Lolita is a young girl whose life is manipu-
lated by her stepfather, the delicate flower with a short lifespan can be interpreted
as an accurate indication of the tragic ending of Lolita.
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 687

Figure 6. Zhu Wan’s translation of Lolita, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2005

However, the container underneath might remind people of a deeper conno-

tation whether it is intentionally designed or unconsciously chosen by the
publisher. The symbolic meaning of the vase, or the bottle, shares a similar inter-
pretation across different cultures and history. As proposed by Sigmund Freud in
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis, “the female genital is symbolically repre-
sented by all those objects which share its peculiarity of enclosing a space capable
of being fulfilled by something – viz., by pits, caves and hollows, by pitchers and
bottles, by boxes and trunks, jars, cases, pockets, etc.” (Freud 1920: 128).
In traditional Chinese culture, one can also find parallel interpretations of the
connotations of the vase and bottle. To those who are familiar with traditional
Chinese literature, the idea that the vase is “directly related to a sex organ” (Huang
Lin 2008 – 35.3%) may not be a strange concept. One of the most well-known
pieces of traditional literature Jin Ping Mei (translated as The Golden Lotus or
Plum in the Golden Vase) uses the symbol of the vase as a representation of the
sexual charm of females. Sinologist Li Fuqing also notes that “based on traditional
Chinese concepts, the vase represents the embrace of a mother, and it is a symbol
of the nature of the female” (Li Fuqing, quoted in Huang Lin 2008 – 35.3%). Even
the flower can be symbolic of females as “many Chinese traditional writers have
compared the flower to the female genitals”, as representing “the beauty of the
female” (Huang Lin 2008 – 36%). This possible reference to the image of the char-
acter and the erotic features of the book is expressed in a rather ambiguous way,
which leaves space for readers to make their own interpretations. This strategy on
the one hand echoes the implicit style of the blurb, while simultaneously meeting
the demands of the readers who prefer to read Lolita as a more serious piece of
literary work.
As the paratexts of Lolita translations shift from titillating introductions to
the text to indicative representations, the major purpose of the paratext is no
688 Ge Bai

longer as a narrative on the text; rather, the latest paratext, especially the illustra-
tion, is more designed to adapt to “a certain ideology or artistic trend” (Pereira
2008: 104), which helps Lolita to be repositioned in the field of literature and trans-
lation. Although it is not stated in the blurb that this version is a retranslation, the
implicit or indicative paratext is designed based on the fact that there are previous
translations which have helped to build up the popularity of this book. In this
process of translation and retranslation, the later versions interact with the earlier
ones in the sense that they are developed in the enriched soil created by their
predecessors while at the same time they are trying to break away from the influ-
ence of the previous translations.

6. Conclusion

Although the paratextual elements are not directly involved in the ST-TT (Source
Text-Target Text) relationship, they are still essential for narrowing the gap
between the translation text and the readers. Based on the heterogeneous nature
of paratexts, we may need to borrow the concept proposed by Roman Jakobson
in his discussion of the three types of translation. Within the realm of paratexts,
when textual elements are represented by other forms of semiotic, such as
pictures, patterns, and colours, a process of “intersemiotic translation” (Jakobson
1959/2000: 114) is carried out by the publishers or editors in order to highlight
the aspect they wish to draw people’s attention to. Due to the limited space on
the book jacket, many messages need to be silenced while others are emphasized.
Similarly, in the blurbs, subtitles and in other forms of paratext, a process of selec-
tion and rejection is simultaneously taking place, although they are more directly
related to the primary source.
Located on the threshold between the textual elements, the readers and the
market, the paratexts may have a more instant response to the cultural and social
climate when they play a role as promotional agents and genre indicators; they
do not only work as a concrete reflection of the social trends and the market
demands, but also appear as object of censorship as a result of constraints imposed
by a certain historical and social background in the case of Lolita translations, and
of other texts. By studying the paratexts of different Lolita translations where there
are contradictions and compromises taking place under the surface, one is able to
get a glimpse of the negotiation between the cultural product and the context.
Moreover, by engaging the paratexts in the analysis of the translated texts we
can treat translation as a complex social activity in which there are multiple agents
involved. The features revealed by paratexts may help to reveal the position occu-
pied by the translation field in the social context. As the paratexts directly influ-
 From a “pornographic” book to a classic 689

ence people’s first impression of the book by indicating the genre and the theme
of the text, the study of paratexts for translations and retranslations may open up
new access connecting the linguistic, cultural and social research on the trans-
lation text with the concrete environment in which many non-translational but
influential agents are involved.

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Résumé
Cet article examine la relation entre des paratextes et le résultat d’une traduction en prenant
comme étude de cas la traduction de Lolita en Chine. Étant donné que Lolita est une des
œuvres littéraires les plus souvent retraduites en Chine au cours des trois dernières décennies,
elle peut servir de baromètre des changements intervenus dans le domaine de la traduction et
dans le contexte social, culturel et historique chinois. C’est pourquoi une étude comparative
des éléments paratextuels de la traduction de Lolita agit comme un reflet des négociations
entre l’activité de traduction et le contexte sociopolitique en mutation. L’analyse des paratextes
présente la traduction comme une activité sociale, dans laquelle plusieurs agents autres que
le traducteur et le texte source sont impliqués. Par leur intégration organique aux résultats
de la traduction, les éléments paratextuels fonctionnent comme des indicateurs de genre pour
promouvoir la traduction tout en anticipant son lectorat cible éventuel. Dans la traduction et la
retraduction du même texte source, un débat sur les paratextes peut fournir de nouvelles pers-
pectives pour comprendre la relation entre les traductions et les retraductions, ainsi que l’évolu-
tion du domaine de la traduction dans la société chinoise.

Mots-clés: paratexte, traductions de Lolita en Chine, (re)traduction et marché, lectorat

cible, indicateur de genre

Address for correspondence

Ge Bai
Durham University
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Elvet Riverside, New Elvet
DH1 3JT, Durham
United Kingdom
ge.bai@durham.ac.uk
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