Market can judge poem translation

Stray Birds translated by Feng Tang. [File photo]

A Chinese translation of Stray Birds, a collection of poems by the Indian Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, has been recalled from shelves by the publisher, Zhejiang Literature and Arts Press, after it sparked wide controversy. Translated by Feng Tang, a 44-year-old writer from Beijing, the version shocked readers with its racy choice of words. A comment on ifeng.com says:

The reason for pulling the new translation of Stray Birds off the shelves should be "blasphemy against a classic", but the book will be hard to sell if the quality is poor. And the translator has a point when he argued his translation will be judged by history of literature and people should let time decide.

If "a thousand Hamlets" are allowed, why not a thousand versions of Stray Birds? Before Feng's book, no more than 10 Chinese translations had been published so there are not too many alternatives to the existing translations.

To debate whether Feng's version is "blasphemy" to the classic requires an open mind, while critiques went viral online, some readers argue that the market should be a judge for the version. Feng might not be a talented translator but it does not mean his right to translate Tagore's poems should be stripped away. The publisher is certainly in a rush to ease the criticism and could well have let the market and time decide.