Abstract
Anton Chekhov's short stories have enjoyed widespread readership in China, with Chinese translations remaining popular for over a century. This popularity was driven by China’s foreign language education policy at the time, which prioritized Russian as the primary foreign language and led to the training of numerous Russian language experts. The themes of Chekhov’s works resonated strongly with China’s social context, and the active promotion by scholars and inclusion of his works in textbooks further contributed to their widespread dissemination in China. However, as many of the Chinese translations have become outdated over the years, they no longer meet modern standards, making it challenging to convey the full meaning of Chekhov’s works accurately. This study explores the dissemination, translation, and reception of Chekhov’s short stories in China, with a focus on analyzing the adaptive translation strategies applied in the Chinese versions. The study first reviews the background of Chekhov’s works in China, including the foreign language policy, the alignment with social context, scholarly promotion, and inclusion in educational materials. Through a critical analysis of the existing Chinese translations, the study identifies issues in linguistic and cultural adaptation. It proposes that translators should enhance translation quality, maintaining fidelity to the original while better meeting the needs of modern readers. The study also suggests that Russian language learners strengthen their language comprehension skills and that scholars adopt innovative research methods to advance academic studies and improve translations of Chekhov’s works in China. This research provides useful insights and references for future translation practices of Chekhov's works.