Translating the Literature of the Weak and Small Nations in the May Fourth Era

The Chinese translation of the literature of weak nations witnessed its first peak during the May Fourth New Cultural Movement up to the end of the 1920s. Such a translational practice also exerted a unique influence on the literary creation of Chinese new literature of the same period. “The literature of the humiliated and oppressed nations” and “the literature of the weak and small nations” were the terms frequently mentioned by new literature groups during the May Fourth Movement. The greatest contributions to the translation of the literature of the weak and small nations were made by Xin Qingnian 新青年 (New Youth) and Xiaoshuo Yuebao 小说月报 (Fiction Monthly), with the support of the Literature Research Society.