Ricerc@Sapienza

Italian literary works were translated into Chinese through various intermediary languages, the first direct literary encounter between Italy and China. What works were chosen? And why? The article tries to offer some answers to these questions, explaining the reason why some Italian works introduced to Chinese readers became ‘classics’ for the entire 20th century, while others were overlooked.

The role played by Italian literature in the renewal of the Chinese literary canon was certainly limited, compared to that played by other Western literatures. However Italian authors and their works were not completely absent in the cultural Chinese arena at the beginning of the 20th century.