“Literary Consecration” in the Translation of Chinese Literary Works: A Case Study of Decoded and Its “Pseudo-Canonization”

This article verifies that Mai Jia's Decoded was not admitted as the first contemporary Chinese title of Penguin Classics. By analyzing the "pseudo-canonization" process of Decoded, it tries to explore the different mechanisms of international and national literary canonization, the power structures behind the canonization of translated literature, and the logic of discourse that has helped promote Chinese literary works as classics overseas. The analysis shows that the canonization process is inextricably related to the power structures and dynamics of world literature, thus a pattern of recognition and a discourse logic are at work in the international reception of Chinese literature. The findings also confirm translation and literary criticism to be essential media for the transnational transfer of cultural capital, and important means of international literary consecration.