Contained in:
Book Chapter

Study in mobility: Tian Dewang and his experience at the University of Florence (1935–1937)

  • Changxu Gao

It is commonly known that Italian departments, or at least Italian literature courses, were inaugurated in Chinese universities in the 1980s. Less known is the period of the 1930s, in which a Chinese student who specialized in Foreign Literature at Tsinghua University obtained a scholarship by the Italian government to study in Italy for two years: Tian Dewang 田德望 (1909-2000) was the first Chinese student to study Italian literature in Italy. In the 1980s he became a famous professor and translator of Italian literature, and was the first to complete an entire translation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy into Chinese. This paper is aimed at reconstructing the relation between the Chinese student and his Italian professor, Attilio Momigliano, and how the ‘mobility experience’ of Tian Dewang in Italy inspired and influenced his future academic career.

  • Keywords:
  • Tian Dewang,
  • Attilio Momigliano,
  • Vittore Branca,
  • Dante,
  • The Divine Comedy,
  • Mobility experience,
+ Show More

Changxu Gao

Sapienza University of Rome, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-6674-4139

  1. Alighieri, Dante, and Sun Yutang 孙毓棠 (trans.). 1933. “Shenqu diyu jieyi 神曲•地狱 节译.” [The Divine Comedy — the Hell” (abridged)]. Qinghua zhoukan 7: 701-05.
  2. Bertuccioli, Giuliano. 1970. “Dante in Cina.” La voce CINA nella Enciclopedia Dantesca, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma, vol. II, 3-4.
  3. Bertuccioli, Giuliano. 1991. “Dante tradotto in Cina.” In L'opera di Dante nel mondo, edited by Enzo Esposito, 271–74. Ravenna: Edizioni e traduzioni nel Novecento.
  4. Bertuccioli, Giuliano. 1986. “Qian Zhongshu: lo scrittore e lo studioso che si interessa alla nostra letteratura”. Mondo Cinese 53: 23–7.
  5. Branca, Vittore. 1982a. “Decameron in Cina (con Postilla di V. Branca).” Studi sul Boccaccio 13: 392–95. Firenze: Sansoni Editore.
  6. Branca, Vittore. 1982b. “Relazione sull'attività dell’Istituto nell’anno accademico 1981-1982.” In Atti. Tomo CXL. Parte generale e atti ufficiali. CXLIV anno Accademico 1981-82, 113–19. Venezia: Istituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed Arti.
  7. Brezzi, Alessandra. 2003. “The ‘Hell’ in China: Chinese Translations of Dante’s Inferno in the 20th century.” In Translation and contrastive studies: collected papers (翻译与语言对比论丛), edited by Tham Wai Mun and Lim Buan Chay, 87–128. Singapore: Nanyang Technological University.
  8. Brezzi, Alessandra. 2011. “Il Novecento cinese di Dante.” Critica del testo XIV/2: 415–38.
  9. Chi, Pang-yuan. 2018. The Great Flowing River: A Memoir of China, from Manchuria to Taiwan. Edited and translated by John Balcom. New York: Columbia University Press.
  10. Chen, Sihe 陈思和. 2011. Zhongguo wenxue zhong de shijiexing yinsu 中国文学中的世界性因素. [World literary factors in Chinese Literature]. Shanghai: Fudan University Press.
  11. Chen, Xiangeng 陈宪庚, and Wu Jingui 吴金贵. 1990. Baoding shi beiqu diming zhi 保定市北区地名志. [Baoding City North District Geographical Names]. Shijiazhuang: Hebei Science and Technology Press.
  12. Felcini, Furio. 1982. Bibliografia della critica pascoliana 1879-1979 degli scritti dispersi e delle lettere del poeta. Ravenna: Longo editore.
  13. Feng, Yaoping 冯姚平. 2018. “Rende gaoge ji Tian Dewang, Liu Yujuan fufu 人的高歌,记田德望、刘玉娟夫妇.” In Lao Beida sushe jishi 老北大宿舍纪事. [Chronicle of the Old Beida Dormitory] , 236-40. Beijing: Beijing Daxue chubanshe.
  14. Ferretti, Claudia. 2021. “La prima traduzione integrale in cinese della Divina Commedia: intervista a Luca Pisano.” UniGe.life, November 9, 2021. https://life.unige.it/index.php/traduzione-cinese-divina-commedia.
  15. Gao, Changxu. 2022. “Italian literature in the Republic of China: translators, interpreters, intellectuals, and their networks.” PhD diss., University of Rome.
  16. Ghidetti, Enrico. 2011. “Momigliano, Attilio.” Dizionario biografico degli italiani, vol. 75. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/attilio-momigliano_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/.
  17. Graf, Arturo, and Tian Dewang (trans.) 田德望. 1946. “Shengyin 声音.” [La Voce]. Shi yu piping诗与批评 [Poetry and criticism] 1: 18.
  18. He, Baomin 何宝民. 2018. Kan ying liunian 刊影流年. [Books and years]. Zhengzhou: Daxiang Chubanshe.
  19. Hockx, Michel, and Denton Kirk A., ed. 2008. Literary Societies of Republican China. Lanham: Lexington Books.
  20. Jameson, Rupert. D. 1930. A Short History of European literature. Shanghai: Commercial Press.
  21. Jin, Fujun 金富军. 2020. “Qinghua daxue liuxuesheng xuanba, paiqian yu zizhu leixing kaocha (1928-1948) 清华大学留学生选拔、派遣与资助类型考察 (1928-1948).” [Study on Types of Selection, Dispatch and Subsidy of International Students at Tsinghua University]. In Zhongguo daxue xiaoshi yanjiu 中国大学校史研究. [Research on the History of Chinese Universities], edited by Zhang Kefei 张克非, and Wang Shouzhong 王守中, 31-43. Zhengzhou: Henan daxue chubanshe.
  22. Jizhe 记者. 1934. “Yanjiu yuan tongxue Tian Dewang jun fu Yidali liuxue 研究院同学田德望君赴义留学.” [Tian Dewang, a classmate of the Institute, went to study in Italy]. Qinghua fukan 42 (4): 22–3.
  23. Li, Bingkui 李丙奎. 2016. “Shenqu de zhongyi ben yanjiu《神曲》的中译本研究.” [A Study of the Chinese Translations of The Divine Comedy]. PhD diss., University of Nankai.
  24. Li, Funing 李赋宁. 2005. “​​Jinru daxue xuexi 进入大学学习.” [Entering University Studies]. In Xuexi yingyu yu congshi yingyu gongzuo de rensheng jingli 学习英语与从事英语工作的人生历程. [The life course of learning English and working in English], edited by Li Funing 李赋宁, 13–6. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe
  25. Li, Sen 李森, ed. 2017. Minguo shiqi gaodeng jiaoyu shiliao sanbian 民国时期高等教育史料资料三编. [Third edition of historical materials of higher education in the period of the Republic of China]. Beijing: National Library Press.
  26. Lin, Huangtian 林煌天, ed. 1997. Zhongguo fanyi cidian 中国翻译词典. [Chinese translation dictionary]. Wuhan: Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe.
  27. Momigliano, Attilio. 1937. Antologia della letteratura Italiana, volume terzo. Milano: Casa editrice Giuseppe Principato.
  28. Momigliano, Attilio. 1936. Storia della letteratura Italiana. Dalle Origini ai Nostri Giorni. Milano: Casa editrice Giuseppe Principato.
  29. Pan, Maoyuan 潘懋元, and Liu Haifeng 刘海峰, eds. 1993. Zhongguo jindai jiaoyu shiliao huibian. Gaodeng jiaoyu中国近代教育史料汇编. 高等教育. [Compilation of historical materials of modern Chinese education, higher education]. Shanghai: Shanghai jiaoyu chubanshe.
  30. Pascoli, Giovanni, and Tian Dewang (trans.) 田德望. 1946. “Shanzhong shinü 山中使女.” [La servetta di monte]. Li Ming 1: 64.
  31. Pollard, A.L. 1993. Great European Novels and Novelists. Beijing: Sanyu Press.
  32. Qi, Jiaying齐家莹, ed. 1999. Qinghua renwenxueke nianpu 清华人文学科年谱. [A chronicle of the humanities of Tsinghua University]. Beijing: Qinghua University Press.
  33. Qian Gechuan 钱歌川. 1995. Qian Gechuan sanwen 钱歌川散文. [Qian Ge Chuan’s Prose Collection]. Beijing: Zhongguo guangbo dianshi chubanshe.
  34. Qinghua daxue xiaoshi yanjiushi 清华大学大学校史研究室, ed. 1991. Qinghua daxue shiliao xuanbian (1911-1948) 清华大学史料选编 (1898- 1948). [Historical materials of Tsinghua University (1911-1948)]. Beijing: Qinghua University Press.
  35. Shields, N. C. 1931. Italian translations in America. New York: Institute of French Studies.
  36. Tian, Dewang 田德望, et. al.1989. Dangdai wenxue fanyi baijia tan 当代文学翻译百家谈当代文学翻译百家谈. [On Contemporary Literary Translation]. Beijing, Beijing daxue chubanshe.
  37. Tian Dewang (1937). Box: “The file of Tian Tewang”. In University Archives, 1-14. Florence: University of Florence.
  38. Tian, Dewang 田德望. 2005. “Wo yu Shen Qu 我与《神曲》.” [I and the Divine Comedy]. In Yibenshu he yige shijie: fanyijia bitan shijie wenxue mingzhu dao Zhongguo 一本书和一个世界:翻译家笔谈世界文学名著“到中国. [A book and a world: translators’ talk on the world literary masterpiece “to China”], edited by Tian Dewang 田德望, Yang Jiang 杨绛 et al., 3-7. Beijing: Kunlun chubanshe.
  39. Tian, Dewang 田德望. 1935. “Xiaoyou tongxin 校友通信.” [Alumni Newsletter]. Qinghua daxue xiaoyou tongxun 2 (9): 6-15.
  40. Wang Hongzhi 王宏志. 2021. “Zuowei wenhua xianxiang de yizhe: yizhe yanjiu de yige qieru dian 作为文化现象的译者:译者研究的一个切入点.” [Translators as Cultural Phenomena: A New Approach to Translators Studies]. Changjiang xueshu 01: 87-96.
  41. Xie, Jun 谢军, and Zhong Chuchu 钟楚楚, eds. 1994. Hushi liuxue riji 胡适留学日记. [Hu Shi's study abroad diary]. Haikou: Hainan chubanshe.
  42. Xu, Dumei 许杜美. 2011. “Shen Qu yizhe Tian Dewang《神曲》译者田德望.” [Tian Dewang, the translator of the Divine Comedy”), Wenhui bao, December 6, 2011. https://www.tsinghua.org.cn/info/1951/18354.htm.
  43. Yang, Guoshun杨国顺. 1982.“Yidali xuezhe Bolangka zai Hua zuo xueshu baogao 意大利学者博朗卡在华作学术报告.” [Italian scholar Branca gives academic lecture in China]. Guowai shehui kexue 1: 33.
  44. Zhang, Junchuan 张君川. 1990. “Zhejiang daxue waiwen xi zai zunyi 浙江大学外文系在遵义.” In Zhejiang daxue zai zunyi 浙江大学在遵义 [Zhejiang University in Zunyi], edited by Guizhou sheng Zunyin diqu difangzhi bianzuan weiyuanhui bian贵州省遵义地区地方志编纂委员会编, 78-81. Hangzhou: Zhejiang daxue chubanshe.
  45. Zhao Luorui 赵萝蕤.1996. Wo de dushu shengya 我的读书生涯. [My reading career]. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe.
  46. Zhongguo dabeike quanshu bianweihui 中国大百科全书编委会, ed. 1982. Zhongguo dabaike quanshu waiguo wenxue juan 中国大百科全书 外国文学卷. [Encyclopedia of China, Foreign literature volume]. Beijing: Zhongguo dabaike quanshu chubanshe.
  47. Zhou, Wenye 周文业, ed. 2012. Qinghua mingshi fengcai, gongke juan 清华名师风采 工科卷. [Tsinghua Famous Teachers' Style. Engineering Volume]. Jinan: Shandong huabao chubanshe.
PDF
  • Publication Year: 2023
  • Pages: 83-97
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2023 Author(s)

XML
  • Publication Year: 2023
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2023 Author(s)

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Study in mobility: Tian Dewang and his experience at the University of Florence (1935–1937)

Authors

Changxu Gao

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0068-4.09

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Words and visions around/about Chinese transnational mobilities 流动

Editors

Valentina Pedone, Miriam Castorina

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

204

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0068-4

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0067-7

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0068-4

eISBN (epub)

979-12-215-0069-1

Series Title

Studi e saggi

Series ISSN

2704-6478

Series E-ISSN

2704-5919

216

Fulltext
downloads

162

Views

Export Citation

1,347

Open Access Books

in the Catalogue

2,262

Book Chapters

3,790,127

Fulltext
downloads

4,421

Authors

from 923 Research Institutions

of 65 Nations

65

scientific boards

from 348 Research Institutions

of 43 Nations

1,248

Referees

from 380 Research Institutions

of 38 Nations