‘Vulgar’ translation of Rabindranath Tagore classic off shelves after outcry

A publisher in China Monday hurriedly withdrew a Chinese translation of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Stray Birds, after facing flak from literary critics who termed the racy translation of the classic “blasphemy” and “cultural terrorism”.

Considering the huge controversy sparked by Feng’s translation, Zhejiang Wenyi Publishing House, the publisher of the translation, announced that it would pull the books off bookshelves and websites, and recall the sold ones, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Tagore’s Stray Birds has long been deemed as a work of elegance and wisdom by its Chinese fans.

But the new translation by famous Chinese writer Feng Tang has shocked readers with racy translations that are often misinterpreted, the report said.

The translations using erotic and vulgar language drew sharp criticism from public which condemned Feng for vulgarising Tagore’s works.

Users on popular Chinese microblog Sina Weibo chastised the translation as “a blasphemy against a classic”.

“Tagore is Asia’s foremost literary titan, revered throughout the world and very much beloved in China. There are many Chinese versions of his poetry, so it is not surprising one more would appear,” columnist Raymond Zhou wrote in China Daily, adding, “But, there’s a fine line between imprinting creative works with unique personality and screaming for attention,” he wrote.