Bulletin Autumn 1975

The Renditions Experience Mr. George Kao Renditions of the Translation Centre has since its first appearance struck a responsive chord among those interested in Chinese studies in the international academic world. In making accessible in English selected Chinese writings in the humanistic fields, Renditions has undoubtedly made its contributions to the interflow of Chinese and western cultures. Mr. George Kao, Editor of Renditions, is an experienced journalist, writer and translator.Mr. Kao has translated into Chinese The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene 0'Neil, and edited an anthology on Chinese Wit and Humor (in English), and is the author of A New Yorker's Talk, San Francisco Nights and Notes on American English (all in Chinese). Mr. Kao will complete his first three-year term at the University and be on leave from Hong Kong at the end of 1975 but he still assumes the post of Editor-at-large of the magazine during his absence. The University Bulletin has requested Mr. Kao to recapitulate the Renditions Experience before his departure. Editor Renditions, a Chinese-English Translation Magazine, published by the University's Centre For Translation Projects, made its first appearance in November 1973. Issued twice a year, this unique journal already has achieved international distinction and a far-flung circulation among students of Chinese language and literature. Each issue of Renditions is a veritable book, an anthology of the best and most enduring in Chinese writings rendered into readable English. A sampling of the five issues published to date shows that the magazine has carried new translations from such sources as the classics of Chinese philosophy, history and biography, as well as T ' a ng poetry, Sung lyrics, Yuan drama, Ming short story collections, Ch'ing novels, and a variety of contemporary Chinese writing. There have been a Special Fiction Issue and a Special Drama Issue; and Renditions No. 6, a Special Art Issue, is scheduled for publication in mid-1976 with emphasis on painting and poetry. Renditions was conceived as a periodical publication to serve the following purposes: (1) To make Chinese writings in the humanities accessible to Western readers; (2) to provide fresh insights into Chinese life and thought; and (3) to discuss and exemplify the art of translation. In his Foreword to the Inaugural Issue, Vice-Chancellor Choh-Ming Li wrote: "There is today no lack of scholarly journals in the English language in the field of Chinese studies. Renditions, however, is designed for the general reader with an educated curiosity about 9