Escaping the “Textual Island”: Rebuilding the Ecosystem for Chinese Literature Abroad through Textless Trans-writing | Xuemo in Dialogue with International Scholars (Episode 24)

Escaping the “Textual Island”: Rebuilding the Ecosystem for Chinese Literature Abroad through Textless Trans-writing | Xuemo in Dialogue with International Scholars (Episode 24)

On 30 August 2026, the 24th session of “Xuemo in Dialogue with International Scholars” was held online under the auspices of the World Literature Union and the Xuemo Foundation. The forum focused on the translation and global circulation of Xuemo’s works. Professor Su Rui of Northwest University delivered a presentation on Howard Goldblatt’s ethical choices in his “textless trans-writing” of Into the Desert (Daughters of the Desert, 《沙漠的女儿》in Chinese). Xuemo attended the discussion, together with scholars including Associate Professor Xu Gaonan of Shandong University and Associate Professor Lin Yan of Ningbo University. The conversation explored literary translation, cultural circulation, and the creation of a cultural ecosystem in the age of artificial intelligence.

Textless Trans-writing: A New Perspective on Translation

Professor Su Rui argued that Into the Desert should not simply be regarded as the English translation of Xuemo’s Daughters of the Desert. Such an understanding overlooks the complex process through which the English text was created.

Drawing on Professor Liu Xiaofeng’s concept of “textless trans-writing,” Su explained that Into the Desert emerged from a creative process involving selection, reconstruction, compression, and rewriting across multiple source texts. Rather than a conventional one-to-one translation, it represents a new narrative generated from the Desert Trilogy, especially White Tiger Pass and Desert Rites.

Through detailed textual comparison, Su demonstrated that Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin did not work from a single source text. Instead, they made a series of ethical choices while negotiating between the literary world of 1990s Liangzhou and the expectations of contemporary English-language readers.

Translation as Ethical Choice

Su emphasized that translation is never merely a technical operation. Every decision concerning what to preserve, what to omit, and how to reshape a narrative involves ethical responsibility.

In Into the Desert, Goldblatt and Lin chose the story of Lanlan and Ying’er as the central narrative framework. This choice created a powerful entry point for international readers by foregrounding two women’s struggle for survival in the desert. At the same time, it inevitably reduced some of the broader social and historical dimensions of the original Desert Trilogy.

Su argued that this was not simply a question of “faithfulness” or “unfaithfulness.” In textless trans-writing, there is no single original text to reproduce. The essential question is how translators assume responsibility when making choices within different ethical environments.

The Writer’s Openness and the Civilizational Ecosystem

When asked whether such a transformation changed his creative intentions, Xuemo responded with openness. He explained that throughout his career he had created different versions and forms of his works in order to reach different readers.

For Xuemo, the ultimate purpose is not to protect the author’s name but to allow wisdom within the works to reach more people. “As long as it benefits readers, I do not care what method is used,” he said.

He connected this attitude to his idea of a “civilizational ecosystem.” The international circulation of Chinese literature cannot depend only on individual translations or isolated works. It requires a living network involving writers, translators, scholars, publishers, and readers, where each participant contributes to the growth of the whole.

From Textual Island to Civilizational Ecosystem

During the discussion, scholars explored how literature can become a source of spiritual nourishment in contemporary society. Xuemo emphasized the importance of cultivating reading communities and developing deeper relationships between readers and texts.

Moderator Yanjin Chen observed that this dialogue extended the previous discussion of “living transmission.” Xuemo’s practice of selfless writing allows works to move beyond the boundaries of individual authorship and become part of a continuously growing cultural ecosystem.

The forum suggested that the future of Chinese literature abroad lies not only in exporting texts but in building relationships among creators, translators, scholars, and readers. Rising above the “textual island” requires a broader ecosystem in which literature can take root and continue to grow.

Conclusion: From Textual Island to a Shared Future

The 24th session brought together translation studies, literary theory, and Xuemo’s reflections on creativity and cultural transmission. It revealed that cross-cultural communication is not only a matter of transferring words between languages, but also of creating conditions for genuine understanding.

Through ethical choices, openness, and collaboration, Chinese literature can move beyond isolated texts toward a living cultural ecosystem. In the age of artificial intelligence, this holistic vision offers a possible path for literature to overcome cultural boundaries and contribute to a shared human future.