Liu Wenjia

The history of translation and interpreting activities in China goes back centuries. In spite of the well­known periods of China’s isolation from the outside world, translation and interpreting training has been carried out for centuries, as different dialects have existed in China from time immemorial. Therefore, for the purpose of ensuring communication between representatives of neighboring regions of the Empire language mediators were frequently needed. This article provides a historical overview of foreign language teaching as well as the translation profession in China from the earliest times to the present day, describing activities in translation and interpreting centers and schools.