What Makes Beauty Universal: Approaches for Overseas Publishing of Central Plains Culture Classics

As a core component of Chinese culture, the profound and far-reaching central plains culture represents the cultural roots and value origins of the Chinese nation. Central plains culture classics serve as essential carriers of this culture, embodying both the crystallization of the wisdom of central plains and establishing natural bond for the coexistence of beauty between central plains culture and various cultures around the world. The overseas publishing practice of central plains culture classics has an extensive history, beginning in the 21st year (647 AD) during the Zhenguan era and continuing to the present day. Through sustained cultural exchanges and interactions between Chinese and foreign civilizations, the number of high-quality translations of central plains culture classics has been increasing steadily. During this process, a translator team composed of foreign sinologists, missionaries, overseas students and central plains culture enthusiasts has made an indelible contribution to the overseas publishing of central plains culture classics. Among those publishing institutions that publish central plains culture classics overseas, university presses, such as Nanjing University Press and Columbia University Press, and professional presses, such as Foreign Languages Press and Shambhala Publication, play significant roles in this endeavor. The primary overseas publishing pattern for central plains culture classics overseas involves independent translation and publication by Chinese or foreign publishing institutions, while sino-foreign cooperative publishing has gradually become a new and effective pattern. Despite considerable progress in the overseas publishing of central plains culture classics, several challenges persist: first, existing translations are mainly concentrated on philosophical classics, such as Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, while most other classics have not been fully translated or published overseas; second, Chinese publishing institutions require enhanced international influence compared to their foreign counterparts; third, the readership for central plains culture classics remains largely confined to academic audiences, with the general public facing many obstacles when reading these classics. In response to these challenges, the following approaches are proposed: first, the comprehensive supply of central plains culture classics content should be realized through enhancing existing support policies, motivating key players in overseas publishing practices, and breaking down the discourse barriers among different types of classics; second, establish a Sino-foreign cooperative publishing network should be established to integrate the advantages of Chinese publishing institutions in content understanding and cultural interpretation of central plains culture classics with the mature experience of foreign publishers in local marketing and distribution; third, publishing institutions should focus on localized and modernized interpretation of the content of central plains culture classics to eliminate overseas audiences’ understanding barriers and then enhance their reading interests. As more central plains culture classics go into foreign countries and are perceived by foreign audience, the exchanges and interactions between Chinese and foreign civilizations can be achieved.