UNESCO Chair Publishes Arabic Translation of Key Work

The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures, supported by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, announced on September 23, 2026, the publication of the Arabic translation of “The Cultural Turn in Translation Studies” by Chinese scholar Wang Ning, released by Dar Al-Faisal at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. The announcement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency, marks a milestone in Arab-Chinese intellectual exchange and reflects the Kingdom’s expanding role as a global hub for cross-cultural dialogue under Vision 2030.

The translation, rendered from Chinese into Arabic by Dr. Nagah Abdullatif, is the product of sustained institutional collaboration between Saudi Arabia and China, one of the Kingdom’s most important strategic partners. It arrives at a time when Riyadh is actively building bridges between civilizations through scholarship, publishing, and academic diplomacy. For international observers, the release signals how Saudi cultural institutions are moving beyond preservation alone and into knowledge production — commissioning, translating, and disseminating foundational works that shape global academic debate. Could there be a clearer sign that the Kingdom’s cultural strategy now operates on a genuinely global scale?

Context and Background

Why does a single translated academic volume matter to readers far beyond translation studies departments? The answer lies in the book’s intellectual lineage. Wang Ning’s work charts the emergence of the “Cultural Turn” in translation studies, a movement that began in the 1990s when scholars such as Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere argued that translation is never a neutral linguistic transfer but a culturally embedded act that shapes meaning, identity, and power. The book then traces how the discussion evolved into “shifting towards translation” within cultural studies, positioning translation as a central rather than peripheral concern for understanding how cultures interact.

The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures, led by Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer, operates under the umbrella of the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, a body established to advance the Kingdom’s cultural objectives. The chair’s mandate is to enhance dialogue between East and West and to enrich Arab critical studies with foundational texts — a mission that this publication directly fulfills. By selecting a Chinese scholar’s landmark work for its first-year output, the chair underscores the priority Saudi Arabia places on Asian intellectual partnerships, particularly with China, at a moment when global cultural flows are increasingly multipolar.

The book’s journey into Arabic is also the fruit of a memorandum of understanding signed on June 5, 2025, between the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and the College of Humanities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. That agreement consolidated a strategic cultural partnership and gave institutional weight to what might otherwise have remained an isolated academic exchange. It directly supports the objectives of the “Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year 2025” and highlights the growing importance of the Chinese language in the Kingdom’s cultural scene — a development with implications for education, publishing, and diplomacy alike. How often does a scholarly translation carry this much strategic freight?

Key Details and Intellectual Scope

The book’s central argument is that globalization, despite the dominance of English, has not diminished the role of translation but strengthened it. Translation, Wang Ning contends, has become an essential approach to preserving cultural diversity and countering homogenization. He recounts the contributions of prominent researchers — Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Lawrence Venuti among them — who broadened the horizons of research by treating translation as inseparable from culture and its debates. For Arab readers, this offers a renewed perspective: translation as an integrated cultural act, not merely a linguistic intermediary.

Wang Ning devotes significant space to the Chinese experience, explaining how translation played a pivotal role in the formation of modern Chinese literature. Western intellectual and literary trends were introduced through translation and contributed to the formulation of a new discourse for literature and culture in China. This historical case study resonates strongly with the Arab world, which has undergone comparable encounters with translated thought. The parallel invites readers to consider how translation has shaped their own literary modernity — and what new directions might follow. Isn’t it striking how translation repeatedly becomes the engine of cultural renewal?

In her introduction to the Arabic edition, Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer wrote that the book offers the Arab reader a renewed perspective that views translation as an integrated cultural act. She noted that the initiative comes as part of the chair’s efforts to enhance East-West dialogue and enrich Arab critical studies with foundational texts. The translation is one of the outputs of “Beyond the River and Across the Seven Seas: Translating Sino-Arab Cultural Encounters,” one of the themes the UNESCO Chair pursued in its first year. That thematic framing places the volume within a broader research agenda, not an isolated publishing event.

International and Regional Impact

What does this publication signal to the wider world about Saudi Arabia’s cultural diplomacy? For one, it demonstrates that the Kingdom is not merely a consumer of global knowledge but an active producer and mediator. By translating a Chinese scholar’s work into Arabic, Saudi institutions are facilitating South-South intellectual exchange, a dimension of global dialogue that has historically received less attention than transatlantic flows. The move positions Riyadh as a convening power between two of the world’s oldest and most dynamic civilizations, with Arabic and Chinese as the linguistic vehicles.

Regionally, the translation enriches Arab academic libraries with a text that has shaped debates in translation studies worldwide. Universities across the Gulf and the broader Middle East can now engage with Wang Ning’s arguments in Arabic, lowering barriers for students and researchers who do not read Chinese or English. This aligns with a wider regional trend of investing in translation as a tool of soft power and knowledge sovereignty. The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, long respected for its scholarly output, adds another foundational volume to its catalogue — one that will likely appear on syllabi and reading lists for years. Could this volume become a standard reference in Arab translation programs?

Economic and Strategic Significance

The strategic significance extends beyond the seminar room. Saudi Arabia and China share a comprehensive strategic partnership spanning energy, trade, technology, and culture. Cultural agreements often precede or accompany economic ones, building the trust and mutual understanding that durable commercial relationships require. By institutionalizing academic cooperation through memoranda of understanding and joint publications, both countries are investing in the long-term resilience of their relationship. The translation of this book is a small but telling component of that larger architecture.

There is also an economic dimension to the translation sector itself. Saudi Arabia’s publishing industry is expanding, supported by commissions and centers that see translation as both a cultural good and a market opportunity. The Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission has made translation a priority, funding projects that bring global works into Arabic and Arabic works to the world. Each high-quality translation builds capacity — trained translators, editorial expertise, distribution networks — that strengthens the Kingdom’s creative economy. In a knowledge-driven global marketplace, such investments pay dividends in reputation and influence alike. Isn’t that precisely the kind of soft infrastructure Vision 2030 envisions?

Vision 2030 Alignment

The publication aligns squarely with Vision 2030’s cultural objectives, which emphasize the preservation and promotion of heritage alongside openness to global exchange. The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures, hosted in the Kingdom and supported by the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, embodies the vision’s ambition to make Saudi Arabia a crossroads of civilizations. By commissioning translations of foundational texts, the chair helps build an intellectual ecosystem that attracts scholars, students, and partners from around the world. This is cultural diplomacy in its most constructive form: patient, institutional, and mutually enriching.

Looking ahead, the Kingdom’s cultural institutions are poised to deepen their engagement with Asian partners, particularly China, as the “Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year 2025” legacy continues through concrete projects. The Arabic translation of “The Cultural Turn in Translation Studies” is both a culmination of one phase and a foundation for the next — a reference work that will inform Arab scholarship while showcasing Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a global hub for dialogue. As Vision 2030 advances, such publications will serve as enduring evidence that the Kingdom’s cultural renaissance is not a slogan but a sustained, outward-looking enterprise. Who could doubt that the next chapter of this story will be written in many languages?

20 Questions

Q1. What was announced by the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures?

A1. The UNESCO Chair announced the publication of the Arabic translation of “The Cultural Turn in Translation Studies” by Chinese scholar Wang Ning, released by Dar Al-Faisal at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

Q2. Who translated the book into Arabic?

A2. Dr. Nagah Abdullatif translated the book from Chinese into Arabic, making the work accessible to Arab readers and researchers across the region.

Q3. Who is the author of the original book?

A3. The original book was written by Chinese scholar Wang Ning, whose work has shaped new directions in translation studies worldwide.

Q4. Which Saudi body supported the UNESCO Chair?

A4. The Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission supported the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures, reflecting the Kingdom’s commitment to cultural and academic development.

Q5. What is the central idea of the book?

A5. The book argues that translation is no longer merely a linguistic activity but a cross-border cultural exercise that produces new knowledge and reshapes relationships between cultures and languages.

Q6. When did the “Cultural Turn” in translation studies emerge?

A6. The cultural turn emerged in the 1990s, when researchers such as Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere established the idea that translation is culturally embedded.

Q7. How does globalization affect translation according to the book?

A7. The book asserts that globalization, despite English dominance, has strengthened translation as an essential approach to preserving cultural diversity and countering homogenization.

Q8. Which scholars are mentioned in the book?

A8. The book discusses Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Lawrence Venuti, and others who broadened research horizons in translation and culture.

Q9. What role did translation play in modern Chinese literature?

A9. Translation played a pivotal role in forming modern Chinese literature, as Western intellectual and literary trends were introduced through translation and shaped a new cultural discourse.

Q10. Who heads the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures?

A10. Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer heads the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures and wrote the introduction to the Arabic translation of the book.

Q11. What did Dr. Al-Ghadeer say about the book?

A11. She said the book offers Arab readers a renewed perspective that views translation as an integrated cultural act, not merely a linguistic intermediary between languages.

Q12. What is the name of the chair’s first-year theme?

A12. The translation is an output of “Beyond the River and Across the Seven Seas: Translating Sino-Arab Cultural Encounters,” a theme of the UNESCO Chair in its first year.

Q13. Which institutions signed a memorandum of understanding?

A13. The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and the College of Humanities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University signed a memorandum of understanding on June 5, 2025.

Q14. What does the cooperation aim to achieve?

A14. The cooperation consolidates a strategic cultural partnership, supports the “Saudi-Chinese Cultural Year 2025,” and highlights the growing importance of the Chinese language in the Kingdom.

Q15. Why is this translation significant for Arab readers?

A15. It provides Arab readers with a foundational text in translation studies, enriching critical studies and enhancing dialogue between East and West in accessible Arabic.

Q16. How does the publication support Vision 2030?

A16. It supports Vision 2030’s cultural objectives by promoting global exchange, knowledge production, and Saudi Arabia’s role as a crossroads of civilizations.

Q17. What is the role of Dar Al-Faisal in this project?

A17. Dar Al-Faisal, at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, published the Arabic translation as an outcome of collaboration with the UNESCO Chair.

Q18. How does the book view the relationship between translation and culture?

A18. The book views translation as inseparable from culture and its debates, positioning it as a creative force that reshapes cultural and linguistic relationships.

Q19. What does the publication indicate about Saudi-Chinese relations?

A19. It indicates deepening academic and cultural ties between Saudi Arabia and China, reinforcing a strategic partnership that extends beyond economic cooperation into knowledge exchange.

Q20. What future developments might follow this publication?

A20. Future developments may include further joint translations, academic exchanges, and research initiatives under the UNESCO Chair, continuing to strengthen Sino-Arab cultural encounters.

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