Chinese short dramas are sweeping overseas markets at a startling speed. Several short drama platforms have climbed to the top of app store charts in European and American markets, captivating international users with their high-stakes narratives like "domineering CEOs" and "revenge."

However, behind this commercial success lies a more profound question: Is the overseas expansion of short dramas merely a capital-driven "fast-food culture," or can it be an effective vehicle for transmitting values and shaping the national image? We think that the answer lies not in the content itself, but in a long-overlooked element—translation.

Translation is not merely language conversion, but the interpretation and reshaping of cultural values. This article will focus on translation as the key part and analyze how it determines the cultural impact and national image projection of short dramas globalization.

I. Core and Surface: Cultural Values in Short Dramas

Short dramas are not vacuous entertainment products, which carry fragments of contemporary Chinese societal values and emotional logic.

"Counterattack" narratives reflect striving anxiety. 

Common plots like "the commoner's triumph" or "upward mobility" resonate with a strong societal belief in personal struggle and success philosophies in China. Even when wrapped in a "Mary Sue" trope, its core often conveys a collective psychology of "changing one's destiny”.

Family ethics mirror the clash of tradition and modernity.

Themes such as conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, intergenerational responsibility, and marital autonomy frequently appear, which essentially reflect the struggles and reconciliations of Chinese people caught between traditional family values and individualistic trends.

Urban portrayals present social snapshots.

From workplace rules and consumption habits to city life and interpersonal relationships, short dramas present a highly concentrated portrayal of contemporary Chinese society.

These values and social landscapes constitute the cultural core of short dramas globalization. The quality of translation will determine how this core is presented to the world.

II. The Distorted Prism: How Poor Translation Leads to Cultural Dumping

When translation is reduced to a mechanical literal conversion, the overseas expansion of short dramas risks sliding into the abyss of cultural dumping—the practice of offloading cultural products with lacking cultural respect.

Literal translation causes cultural aphasia.

Chinese expressions like "打脸" (to be proven wrong/humiliated) or "接地气" (down-to-earth) translated literally as "hit face" or "touch the ground" leave international audiences baffled. Such translations fail to convey the original meaning and reinforce the stereotype that "Chinese culture is incomprehensible."

Emotional mistranslation exacerbates narrative awkwardness.

Emotionally charged Chinese dialogue, when translated literally, can seem exaggerated or ridiculous to foreign viewers. They may attribute this awkward translation to "China's exaggerated storytelling style" rather than the failure of translation. This misjudgment further damages the reputation of Chinese cultural products.

Distorted values lead to image stigmatization.

When "family responsibility" is translated as "feudal oppression", or when a "female lead's resilience" is presented as "weakness and passivity," translation inadvertently amplifies aspects of Chinese culture viewed negatively through certain Western point of view. This distortion can cater to pre-existing Orientalist biases, freezing the national image in outdated, conservative stereotypes.

Basic errors destroy professional credibility.

Pervasive grammatical mistakes and spelling errors lead overseas audiences to question the production standards of Chinese cultural products. This unprofessional translation directly lowers the overall quality of China's creative industry.

III. Building Bridges: How High-Quality Translation Enables "Soft Power" Communication

Quality translation can transform conflict into dialogue and achieve genuine soft power communication—winning recognition and goodwill through cultural appeal.

Cross-cultural adaptation Enables value transcoding.

Skilled translators seek culturally equivalent expressions. They transform "婆媳矛盾" into "intergenerational conflict" and explain "人情社会" as a "relationship network," ensuring the core conflict remains valid across cultures. This transcoding preserves the story's essence while removing comprehension barriers.

Emotional resonance forges heart-to-heart connections.

High-quality translation can strip away exaggerated exteriors to distill universal human emotions like "the pursuit of true love," "protecting one's family," or "the desire for fairness." When international audiences are moved to tears or laughter by these shared feelings, Chinese culture successfully connects on an emotional level.

Linguistic recreation shapes a three-dimensional image.

Authentic dialogue translation makes characters believable and relatable. A Chinese character who expresses himself/herself fluently in natural English projects an image of a modern, confident Chinese individual. This linguistic "localization" is the most micro-level, yet highly effective, path to national image building.

Cultural annotation serves as a friendly guide.

Adding brief explanations for necessary culture-loaded words preserves cultural uniqueness while demonstrating an open attitude. This considerate cultural annotation is an embodiment of soft power.

Conclusion: Beyond Short Dramas—The Strategic Value of Translation

The cultural significance of short dramas globalization far exceeds their commercial value. It is a stress test for the global dissemination of Chinese culture and a mirror that reflects our cross-cultural communication capabilities.

The quality of translation is the watershed between cultural dumping and soft power communication. Poor translation turns short dramas into amplifiers of cultural prejudice, while high-quality translation can transform them into bridges for cross-cultural understanding.

As "Chinese culture going global" becomes a national strategy, we must redefine the role of translation. It should not be treated as a cheap, after-the-fact fix, but recognized as fundamental infrastructure and a core competency for cultural communication.

We call for content producers, platforms, and professional translators to join forces. Through a profound understanding and respect for culture, they must collaboratively create cultural products that can generate market value while also conveying China's voice and shaping its national image. Only in this way can the export of Chinese culture evolve from simply "going out" to truly "going in"—that is, entering the hearts and minds of people around the world.