How far can a translator stray?

Chinese author Feng Tang sparked a controversy among China's literary circles for his vulgar and racy translation of "Stray Birds," a collection of poems by Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). The controversy developed into a heated debate about today's translation standards.

In one of the most controversial lines, Feng translated "The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover. It becomes small as one song, as one kiss of the eternal" into Chinese sentences which literally mean "The wide world unzipped its crotch to its lover. Long as a tongue kiss, small as a line of a poem." In another instance, "The great Earth makes herself hospitable with the help of the grass" is rendered into "Because of green grass, the great Earth becomes quite horny."

The work was released in July 2015 but didn't catch the public's attention until recently when some of the translated lines were discussed on social media. Many criticize Feng for straying too far from the original and regard his translation as a desperate attempt to gain attention. In response to the virulent criticisms and controversy, the Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House announced its decision to pull Feng's version from shelves on December 28, 2015. Feng responded to the move by saying, "Let the work speak for itself. Let the time and the history of literature make a judgment."

Not everyone agrees with the decision to recall the book with some saying there should be no universal standards for judging translations. Notably, Chinese sociologist and sexologist Li Yinhe expressed support for Feng on her microblog, saying his translation is the best Chinese version of the anthology. She made a detailed comparison between Feng's translation and that of renowned Chinese writer Zheng Zhenduo (1898-1958), who translated the poems into Chinese in the 1920s and whose version was widely regarded as the best. Li concluded that Feng's version excels in beauty. Feng himself also dismissed Zheng's translation as too flat. Li said the only shortcoming of Feng's translation is that he applied too much of his own style to the translated version.

Tagore is one of the most popular foreign writers in China, with many of his works available in Chinese. "Stray Birds" is a collection of short poems and aphorisms that embody the writer's love of nature and simplicity. Feng, 45, has published a wide range of literary works including novels, prose and poems.