Overnight, the phone screens of overseas audiences were taken over by Chinese short dramas. The nanny realizing the counter attack, the vengeful reborn queen, the ordinary person with a system... These “digital snacks”(a show to watch while people eat) are gaining massive traffic on platforms like ReelShort, captivating viewers with their fast pace and dense, satisfying plot points.
This wave of short dramas globalization is an unprecedented practice of mass cultural export. However, behind the English-speaking protagonists acting out Eastern stories, a key role determines the final flavor of this cultural feast—translation.
It is far from a simple language conversion; it acts as a cultural filter and a conveyor of values. Under the translator's pen, what gets exported could be a real, multifaceted modern China, or it could be an "Oriental spectacle" wrapped in outdated prejudice.
I. Translation: Not Just Language Conversion, But a Cultural Filter
From the perspective of cultural studies, any audiovisual work is a "system of representation" for specific cultural values. These short dramas contain not only explicit values—such as the emphasis on family responsibility (filial piety), the desire for upward social mobility (reversal of fortune), and complex imaginings of romantic relationships (the domineering CEOs)—but also implicit cultural logic—such as characters' motivations, the subtext in social interactions, and even the ways humor and conflict are handled.
When this content crosses cultural boundaries, translation plays a key role as a filter.
Domestication and foreignization: two common translation strategies.
Crude domestication, aiming to make things "easy to understand" for the target audience, forcibly applies existing stereotypes from the target audiences’ culture. For instance, simplifying complex Chinese familial ethics into "Oriental authoritarian traditions"; translating nuanced dialogue into the dramatic quarrels common in Western media.
Rigid foreignization, on the other hand, involves overly literal, word-for-word translation that strips away cultural meaning. Translating "江湖义气" as "rivers and lakes loyalty" only baffles overseas viewers, indiscriminately copying Chinese-specific puns makes the humor vanish instantly.
A careless, poor-quality translation is like a distorting filter, warping and deforming the original values during transmission, ultimately being received by overseas audiences in a completely wrong way.
II. The "Toxicity" of Poor Translation: Deepening Stereotypes and Damaging National Image
When translation abdicates its duty of cultural interpretation, the negative impacts are profound and damaging.
1 Reinforcing the "Single Story," Creating Cultural Bias
After translation, if all exported short dramas are reduced to elements like harem fight, complex conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or money worship, what image of China does that shape? It flattens a diverse, complex, modern Chinese society into a series of scheming, melodramatic showcases of "feudal remnants”. Overseas audiences may unconsciously equate the plots with reality, further reinforcing the stereotype of that "ancient, mysterious, and dangerous Oriental realm."
2 Causing Cultural Misinterpretation and Generating Unnecessary Conflict
Plots based on Chinese social contexts, if translated without their background, are highly susceptible to misinterpretation. For example, storylines involving "彩礼" (bride price), if lacking necessary cultural context, can easily be simplistically interpreted as "backward customs" that "objectify women." A social phenomenon meant to spark discussion becomes proof for attacking Chinese culture. This not only fails to promote understanding but creates new cultural barriers and emotional opposition.
3 Directly Harming Soft Power and National Image
Cultural products are direct projections of a national image. The logic chain of poor translation is very clear:
Poor Translation → Distorted Cultural Product → Negative Viewer Experience → Formation of Resistant Attitudes Towards Chinese Culture → Ultimate Damage to National Cultural Appeal and International Image.
While efforts are made to shape an open, progressive, credible, and respectable image of China internationally, these short dramas, wrapped in poor translation, pull in the opposite direction, constantly dragging our image back into the old framework of being closed, traditional, and even uncivilized.
III. The Value of High-Quality Translation: Building Bridges, Reshaping Image
So, how can translation be transformed from “problem" to "solution"? The answer lies in advocating high-quality translation characterized by cultural sensitivity and a pursuit of "creative fidelity."
1 What is "Creative Fidelity"?
It is not enslaved to words but is a messenger of meaning. It requires the translator to deeply understand the social context and emotional core of the source culture, then perform a creative transformation in a way that the target audience can understand and appreciate.
Contextualized interpretation: For culture-loaded words like "关系" (relationship ) or "面子" (face), their connotations can be conveyed through subtle wording or brief clauses without disrupting fluency.
Dynamic Equivalence: Find expressions that evoke similar emotional responses rather than stubbornly adhering to literal meaning. The classical Chinese poetry might be equivalently conveyed through a beautiful piece of English prose.
Preserving Cultural Distinctness: For unique elements that enhance the work's appeal, like the “武侠精神”（swordman’s spirit） should be confidently retained and their unique charm made palpable to overseas audiences through precise lexical choices.
2. From "Cultural Export" to "Cultural Dialogue"
High-quality translation can elevate short dramas beyond mere "wish-fulfillment stories”, turning them into bridges for cross-cultural understanding. A story about an independent Chinese urban woman navigating career and family pressures, through accurate translation, can allow overseas audiences to see the dreams and pressures of China's younger generation, fostering deep empathy. It conveys not odd stories about "them," but life challenges faced by "us all."
3 Shaping a True, Multi-dimensional, and Comprehensive National Image
Ultimately, high-quality translation builds a virtuous circle:
High-Quality Translation → Authentic Cultural Expression → Positive Audience Perception → Enhanced Cultural Affinity → A Modern, Dynamic National Image.
It is through countless meticulously localized cultural products that we can piece together, bit by bit, for the world a true China that is both ancient and modern, unique yet inclusive, full of vitality and complexity.
The wave of short dramas going global is not just an opportunity but also a test. It tests whether we truly understand the rules of cross-cultural communication and whether we genuinely value the image of our culture and nation on the world stage.
Translation, at this moment, is no longer a marginal technical task but a strategic frontline concerning cultural discourse power and national image building.
We call upon content platforms and producers to increase investment in professional localization teams, viewing them as an integral part of the core creative process. We expect translators, with the consciousness of cultural ambassadors, to hone their skills and shoulder the responsibility of interpretation and communication. We also hope that every viewer can become a discerning consumer, applauding works with high-quality cultural translation.
Only by empowering translators to shoulder this responsibility can this tidal wave of short dramas from the East become a warm current connecting hearts and minds, rather than a chasm deepening prejudices.
