Abstract:

English translation of the names of “xiaoshuo” and its sub-genres is complex, and the phenomena of mistranslation are not uncommon in periodicals and dictionaries. “Fiction” and “novel” are not synonymous in English, and neither word is equivalent to “xiaoshuo” in Chinese, therefore, we need to choose the right word according to the context. There are different opinions on the classification of “xiaoshuo” in English and in Chinese literature. In terms of contemporary Chinese “xiaoshuo”, it should be divided into four sub-genres: “changpianxiaoshuo”, “zhongpianxiaoshuo”, “duanpianxiaoshuo”, “weixingxiaoshuo” or “xiaoxiaoshuo”. The names of the fourth sub-genre (“weixingxiaoshuo” or “xiaoxiaoshuo”) are diverse and confused, while the two most prevalent names are “xiaoxiaoshuo” and “weixingxiaoshuo”. We think the best name should be “weipianxiaoshuo”. Moreover, both “zhongpianxiaoshuo” and “weipianxiaoshuo” have various English translations, which differ in rationality. We can select the precise English expression for each of them on the basis of analysis.

Key words: fiction, novel, novelette, novella, short story, mini-story