The Translating Subject beyond Borders: Relay Translations of Biographies of George Washington in East Asia in the Early Twentieth Century

In the early twentieth century, the political environments of China, Japan, and Korea were heterogeneous, encompassing various discourses and orientations. Using biographies of George Washington, this article examines the particularities of the texts created through such translations. In relay translations of biographies of Washington, Fukuyama Yoshiharu(sic) (Japanese, published 1900) sought an ideal model of Confucian ethics; Ding Jin(sic) (Chinese, published 1903) represented Washington as a strong warrior who won independence after a long fight; and Yi Haejo(sic) (Korean, published 1908) offered a portrait in which the warrior figure recedes and the Confucian image is again reinforced. Despite the gap between the political environments of Japan and Korea and the absence of a direct connection between them, Fukuyama's and Yi's editions share more overlapping features with each other than with Ding's. Properly recognizing and highlighting individual translation and adaptation practices that do not converge on the norms of national discourse will expand the horizons of the national discourse itself.