What does this research mean for the field?

Julia Lovell's abridged translation of Journey to the West substantially dilutes Buddha-related narrativity and reshapes Buddhas' narrative images through extensive omissions and selective reframing to prioritize target-reader accessibility over cultural fidelity. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how Buddha-related narratives are translated and reframed in Julia Lovell's abridged English translation of Journey to the West using socio-narrative theory.

August 23, 2026Humanities and Social Sciences CommunicationsOpen Access

Translating and reframing of the narratives of “Fó” (佛) in Journey to the West: a case study on Lovell’s translation

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Authors

WLWei LiuJilin University YGYuan Gao FWfeng wangShandong University

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Implication

Textual analysis reveals omission and reframing of Buddhist narratives in Lovell's translation, indicating a shift toward institutional authority over devotional themes.

Key Points

To examine how Buddha-related narratives are translated and reframed in Julia Lovell's abridged English translation of Journey to the West using socio-narrative theory.
Applied socio-narrative theory to analyze translation strategies and reframing tactics.
Categorized translational techniques into semantic equivalence, pragmatic equivalence, and omission.
Assessed reframing tactics, specifically selective appropriation, labelling, and participant repositioning.
Lovell's translation omitted 67.44% of all Buddha-related references from the source text.
The translation reframed Buddhas primarily as institutional authorities with immense magical power while downplaying their pedagogical and ritual-devotional dimensions.
Buddhist conceptual frameworks, such as salvation and karmic logic, were significantly diluted to enhance target-reader accessibility and narrative efficiency.

Cite This Study

Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aad417677a3411444565e https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-08807-3

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Implication

Textual analysis reveals omission and reframing of Buddhist narratives in Lovell's translation, indicating a shift toward institutional authority over devotional themes.

Translating and reframing of the narratives of “Fó” (佛) in Journey to the West: a case study on Lovell’s translation

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Translating and reframing of the narratives of “Fó” (佛) in Journey to the West: a case study on Lovell’s translation

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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