From wilderness to wonderland

Abstract This article examines the 1905 Chinese translation of The Swiss Family Robinson through an ecocritical lens and explores how ecological themes are adapted and reinterpreted within a non-Western cultural context. The study draws on traditional Chinese literary and philosophical concepts such as 山水 shanshui ‘mountain and water’, 风景 fengjing ‘wind-light’, and 无为 wuwei ‘non-action’ to expound the relationship between humans and nature in translation. By comparing the translation with the original text, this study finds that while the original text presents a utilitarian view of nature, the Chinese version accentuates the aesthetics of the island, elevates it to a utopian space, and emphasizes moral obligations toward nonhuman life. Despite its strong ecocentrism, the translation also reveals a predilection for anthropocentrism and positions human beings as superior to animals. The coexistence of both ecocentrism and anthropocentrism suggests that they are not mutually exclusive. The article also contextualizes these shifts within the tumultuous socio-political landscape of the late Qing dynasty and argues that the translation responds to the broader social milieu of the time. By situating ecological consciousness within the practice of translation, this study forges a link between ecocriticism and Translation Studies. It further demonstrates that ecological awareness existed in historical contexts where it had not yet emerged as a dominant framework, which reveals its embeddedness in cross-cultural exchanges.