Translating the soul: JIANG Yi’s lecture on Steppenwolf and Music

Zhejiang University offers a wealth of lecture resources, where scholars once known only through books or television frequently come to give talks. Not long ago, the renowned German literature translator JIANG Yi visited Zhejiang University to deliver a lecture. She has translated four novels by Hermann Hesse. The lecture was titled “Hermann Hesse and Music: Hearing the Harmony of the Soul—Taking the Translation of Steppenwolf as an Example.”

In her lecture, JIANG Yi explained that translation is far more than simply matching words between languages. It is a complex, creative, and cross-cultural process. A translator must deeply understand the literal meaning, cultural connotations, stylistic features, and the author’s intent in the source language, and then find the most appropriate and natural expressions in the target language to effectively convey meaning and evoke emotional resonance.

You might wonder how a lecture on translation connects to music. JIANG Yi’s explanation offers a compelling answer.

The protagonist of Steppenwolf, Harry Haller, is a middle-aged intellectual who describes himself as “half man, half wolf.” His soul resembles a multi-part fugue, simultaneously playing a classical sonata and noisy jazz. The themes of “man” and “wolf” intertwine, clash, and oppose each other, creating intense inner conflict throughout the novel. To truly appreciate the jazz-like qualities described in Steppenwolf, one must understand the era that gave rise to jazz—Germany’s Weimar Republic in the 1920s. It was a time marked by postwar devastation and rampant inflation, yet it also produced a strikingly vibrant and chaotic culture. In this context, jazz can be seen as the most vivid expression of this “flower of evil.”

JIANG Yi noted, “When discussing translation techniques and the transformation of language, I focus more on the author’s inner world, the narrative structure of the novel, the fate of its characters, and even the cultural atmosphere of the era. For me, it is impossible to truly understand Steppenwolf without fully grasping the profound cultural symbols embodied in its musical elements.”

This lecture broadened my perspective and gave me the opportunity to engage with a distinguished scholar. It also helped me realize that translation is both a science and an art. A literary translator must be not only a linguist, but also a cultural scholar and a skilled writer. Even though I do not specialize in languages, lectures like this at Zhejiang University have been incredibly valuable to me.