Machine Translation of Chinese Fantasy (Xianxia) Novels

Recent years have witnessed a reading frenzy in the West for Chinese internet literature, particularly Chinese Xianxia fantasy novels. With the rise of the internet, Xianxia novels, which originated in the Tang dynasty, have been rejuvenated and have formed their own genre in the digital era. The welcome by-product of its popularity—the extensive fan base—takes up the translation work voluntarily and boosts the development of literary translation with the aid of machine translation (MT). Although literary texts have long been considered the greatest challenge for MT, it increasingly appears that MT might open up new channels in the emerging overseas market for Xianxia novels. Compared with formal, traditional literature, the characteristics of Chinese internet literature—especially of Xianxia novels that employ a specific terminology—smooth the way for MT. This chapter examines the features of Xianxia novels that enable MT to capitalise on its abilities in facilitating the dissemination of Chinese literature and enhancing literary translation in general. By examining the major websites dedicated to the translation of Xianxia novels, this chapter argues that MT, assisted by human translation in the form of pre- and post-editing, has the potential to usher in a new era of literary translation.