Svetlana Kharchenkova investigates translated non-fiction and Chinese censorship: ‘I am curious to see what considerations authors make with regard to censorship in China.’
NWO XS grant image: Nehir Aksel
When a foreign book is translated for the Chinese market, there is a good chance that not all of the text will make it into the new version. With an NWO XS grant, university lecturer Svetlana Kharchenkova will investigate how foreign authors deal with this censorship.
The Chinese book market is not new to Kharchenkova. She previously used a Veni grant to research the choices made by Chinese publishers. Which books did they consider suitable for the Chinese market and which did they prefer to leave untranslated? ‘For this grant, I am turning that research around,’ she says. 'What do authors with no ties to China think about their books being censored? Do they refuse such requests? Do they negotiate or do they agree?'
Kharchenkova focuses on non-fiction books from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. ‘Whereas sensitive topics in fiction can be hidden in metaphors, non-fiction is more directly focused on facts,’ she explains. ‘That makes it clear to censors that cuts need to be made.’ This censorship ranges from deleting a single phrase because it refers to a religious holiday such as Christmas, to removing entire chapters that might contain sensitive material. Kharchenkova: ‘The number of changes probably influences the decisions authors make, but so does the type of book. An author of a self-help book may make different choices than an author of a political work. I am curious to find out which factors are important in this regard.’
Size of the language area
Language will play a role in any case, Kharchenkova suspects. ‘Because Dutch is spoken across a much smaller language area, the chance that censorship would be discovered by the readers is also smaller. The situation is different with, for example, the English-language autobiography of Hillary Clinton, which was heavily censored in China. She denies that she gave permission for the changes, but that is unlikely in the case of such an important political figure. '
That does not mean that everyone is asked for permission. Kharchenkova: 'Sometimes authors are not asked for permission to censor their text. In that case, I wonder whether they take the initiative to find out what is happening with the text or whether they just let it be.'
Get involved
To answer her questions, Kharchenkova wants to interview non-fiction authors, always anonymously. 'Anyone who has published a non-fiction book that has been translated into Chinese is welcome to contact me.'