Abstract: In the much-discussed Chinese tradition of translation, prominence was almost always given to men translators and translation thinkers, as though they were the entirety of the Chinese translation landscape. This essay discusses the work performed by Chinese women for centuries in the field of translation and translation discourse. Starting from an examination of the presence of women in the early Chinese translating / interpreting scene and an analysis of why and how that early presence was then discontinued, this essay focuses on modern and contemporary times when Chinese women re-entered, as it were, the translation stage, and such issues as the major characteristics of Chinese women translators, what kind of women’s voice there was in Chinese discourse on translation, and how Chinese women researchers have presented themselves in the contemporary Chinese TS field. Hopefully, insights may be revealed not only on the role of women translators / translation scholars as an integral component of the Chinese translation tradition, but also into how the gender issue may be most meaningfully addressed in TS research at large.

Keywords: Translation, Chinese tradition, women translators / researchers, gender issues, feminist approaches