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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhile there is no shortage of English-language books and magazines lying around Panjiayuan, this one caught my eye. A short time and a few stalls later and I came across a shoebox filled to the brim with old, Chinese-language\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>cards. (For the uninitiated,\u00a0Magic: The Gathering\u00a0<\/em>is a fantasy card game that sometimes draws inspiration from the beings and beasts of Middle-earth. Some fans of the game have even created\u00a0playing decks inspired by Tolkien\u2019s work<\/a>.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two finds got me thinking: How and when did Tolkien\u2019s work arrive in China, and does China have a Tolkien fanbase as rabid and passionate as that in the West?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ring Goes East <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a broad sense, fantasy is nothing new in China: In the 16th century, during the Ming Dynasty, the classic Chinese novel\u00a0Journey to the West\u00a0<\/em>was published. The story, which chronicles the adventures of a Buddhist monk who travels to India to recover Buddhist scriptures, features numerous magical beings \u2013 most notably the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Hobbit\u00a0<\/em>are different. For one, they are Europe-centric, with the author drawing inspiration from European folklore and fairy tales, religion (primarily Roman Catholicism) and language. His experiences in war-torn Europe during World War I also influenced elements of his Middle-earth legendarium. Characteristics of East Asian folklore, religion (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, etc.) and language are notably absent from Tolkien\u2019s work, which means that an approachable cultural entry point can be challenging to find for prospective Chinese readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally published way back in 1954-55, Tolkien\u2019s trilogy was released when the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) was mostly closed off to the world. Revolutionary Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China had risen to power only a half-decade prior to the release of The Fellowship of the Ring<\/em>, and land reforms and collectivization were underway<\/a>. Only a trickle of foreign media made its way into the country at that time, most of it of the ideologically-aligned and Soviet variety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The greatest hindrance for Tolkien\u2019s masterpieces in China, though, was the lack of a Chinese-language translation of The Lord of the Rings <\/em>and The Hobbit<\/em>. This impediment wouldn\u2019t be overcome until 1998 when the Wanxiang and Lianjing publishing companies in Taiwan released two versions of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> translated into traditional Chinese characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, several more versions of Tolkien\u2019s three-part epic have been translated to both traditional and simplified Chinese characters, along with some of his other stories, including The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book<\/em>, Roverandom<\/em>, Leaf by Niggle<\/em>, The Silmarillion <\/em>and, of course, The Hobbit<\/em>. Many other stories have not been officially translated, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, many of the Chinese-language translations of Tolkien\u2019s three-volume epic have suffered due to the lack of cultural context mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A thesis paper written in 2000 by a student at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan analyzed the\u00a0various translation issues<\/a>\u00a0present in the first Chinese-language versions of\u00a0The Lord of the Rings\u00a0<\/em>published two years earlier. The author David van der Peet notes that both versions include a myriad of translation gaffes and fail to convey the original meaning of Tolkien\u2019s text. He attributes these shortcomings to the translators\u2019 lack of knowledge of \u201cthe complicated linguistic and cultural backdrop\u201d that frames the trilogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later translations suffered from similar criticisms<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the numerous\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0Chinese-language translations, the work of Taiwan resident Teng Jia-wan stands out. Teng first got acquainted with the fantasy trilogy while studying at a British university in the late 1990s, according to\u00a0a 2018\u00a0China Daily<\/em>\u00a0profile<\/a>. She felt so enchanted by the novels that she decided she would translate them into Chinese.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Teng was a little late to the party, and the abovementioned Chinese-language versions of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> already existed. So, after returning to Taiwan in 1998, she set about translating The Silmarillion<\/em> instead. Her version was published in Taiwan in 2002 and spread online in the Chinese mainland \u2013 since there was no official print version. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teng\u2019s dream to translate and publish a Chinese version of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> would eventually come true, though: In 2012, she was tapped to translate a new version of the iconic trilogy along with two other Chinese Tolkien fans she met through online forums. The finished product was published in 2013 and has been hailed by some as the most accurate translation of the story of the quest to destroy the One Ring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the Wok and Into the Fires of Fandom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the success of Peter Jackson\u2019s three-part film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> was practically guaranteed in the Western world, there were no promises it would be a shoo-in blockbuster in the PRC. (If you don\u2019t believe me, look no further than the Star Wars<\/em> films for an example of popular Western media that has consistently bombed on the Chinese mainland.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the obstacles to the success of the story of Frodo and the Ring of Power in the Chinese market, Jackson\u2019s films would find a reason to celebrate in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chicago-based physicist and writer Dr. Yangyang Cheng recounted the fanfare around the launch of The Fellowship of the Ring<\/em> in China in a recently published essay<\/a> in SupChina. Dr. Cheng, 31, grew up in a medium-sized city in Central China and was first introduced to Tolkien\u2019s work when her mother brought home a Chinese-language collection of classic Western stories. The abridged versions of The Hobbit <\/em>and The Lord of the Rings<\/em> were her favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked about the hype for the film adaptation of\u00a0Fellowship<\/em>, Dr. Cheng tells me via email that \u201cposters and billboards for the movies were everywhere in the city and my classmates and I talked about it often at school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her SupChina essay, she also notes that Chinese-language adaptations of the books were soon prominently featured in every bookstore. China\u2019s once-ubiquitous roadside DVD hawkers began offering copies of Jackson\u2019s films with \u201cdubious licensing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2004, Jackson\u2019s The Return of the King<\/em> became the top film<\/a> at the Chinese box office \u2013 a massive achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The debut of The Lord of the Rings <\/em>films in China led to an increase in Tolkien-related media in the PRC, and soon a large number of citizens were at the very least familiar with the writer\u2019s stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A decade after the last film in Jackon\u2019s first trilogy was released, when the filmmaker\u2019s comparatively lackluster conclusion to the three-part film adaptation of The Hobbit <\/em>hit silver screens, it was the Chinese market that helped it rake in the dragon\u2019s hoard. On its opening weekend in China, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em> brought in a record-breaking US$49.5 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a Vanity Fair article<\/a><\/em> from early 2015, \u201c[E]ven though it did pretty well domestically, the Hobbit<\/em> trilogy didn\u2019t end up being quite the box office titan Lord of the Rings<\/em> was back in the pre-Marvel era of 2003. That is, until today. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies<\/em> premiered in China this weekend to a record-breaking $49.5 million, bringing its worldwide revenue to $866.5 million. Even greedy Smaug might be happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From no Tolkien to translated Tolkien to Jackson\u2019s impressive cinematic adaptations,\u00a0The Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0found its way into China\u2019s public consciousness. Heck, the fantasy novels and films have proven so popular in China that a company constructed a One Ring-inspired skyscraper<\/a> in 2019 in Southwest China\u2019s Chongqing municipality.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon\u2019s Gate Opens<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I write this article in 2021, global Tolkien fandom collectively smashes their fingers against screens and keyboards, hunting for the latest details of Amazon\u2019s massive-budget TV series set in Middle-earth\u2019s Second Age.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wonder: How will the upcoming Tolkien-inspired Amazon series be received in China?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think The Lord of the Rings <\/em>has a really great reputation in China. I feel like it is honestly one of those works of Western literature that is most accessible to the average Chinese person. I think [the Amazon Prime adaptation] will do well,\u201d says Bryan Grogan, the culture editor at Shanghai-based digital publication Radii China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s difficult to say with certainty, I\u2019m of the belief The Lord of the Rings<\/em> TV program will likely find a ready and welcoming fan base in the PRC. For one, the super-high-budget series will presumably benefit from Chinese audiences\u2019 familiarity with Tolkien\u2019s literature and Jackson\u2019s films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The TV show also stands a strong chance of stepping into the void left when HBO\u2019s mega-hit series Game of Thrones<\/em> wrapped up in 2019. Game of Thrones<\/em> proved incredibly popular in China, with Chinese President Xi Jinping even believed to have referenced the show<\/a> during an official meeting on at least one occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being namedropped by the world\u2019s most powerful Chinese man, the fantasy series truly connected with Chinese fans. Considerable online chatter preceded and followed each new Game of Thrones <\/em>episode (in the later seasons, anyway) on China\u2019s Twitter-like microblog platform Weibo. Some fans even got creative: One netizen created a viral series of Photoshopped images featuring characters from Westeros as Chinese street vendors<\/a> and New Year\u2019s travelers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/lotr-chinese-covers-fellowship.jpg\")
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