Interlinguistic and Intersemiotic Translation of Chinese Science Fiction in Italy. Con Quelle Mani/假手于人 from Short Story to Graphic Novel, Martina Caschera

Drawing on the concept of “world literature as a mode of circulation,” this study examines how the “interventional performance of translators and other literary agents” facilitates such circulation (Chiu and Zhang 2022, 12). Interviews were conducted with publishers, translators, and adapters, and their insights were used to understand the dynamics of sci-fi dissemination in Italy and to support the findings of the textual analysis. Mu Ming’s short story “Jiashou Yuren” 假手于人 is analyzed through the lens of translation studies to explore the ways in which sci-fi “travels beyond national boundaries and gains a new life in world literary space” (Chiu and Zhang 2022, 10). The availability of both the short story and the graphic novel versions in Italian enables an investigation of Chinese sci-fi in translation from interlinguistic and intersemiotic perspectives.