ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the changes of norms governing the rendering of a number of Chinese weights and measures in the translation of Chinese literature into English initiated by government bodies in the People’s Republic of China in the second half of the twentieth century. It is hoped that, by revealing how such norms have changed in unison with the auto-image of official Chinese culture, the findings may on the one hand contribute to the refinement of polysystem theory and descriptive translation studies and, on the other hand, provide some food for thought for translation policymakers, researchers and practitioners.
