In the early 1930s

Lao She made an effort to translate

The Criticism of Literature

by the American scholar Elizabeth Nitchie

but failed to complete the translation. Only four translated chapters were published

in Cheeloo University Monthly

and

Cheeloo University Quarterly

. Previous academic studies tended to regard the translation as a knowledge resource introduced by Lao She to assist his teaching in Cheeloo University. However

Lao She’s translation is not a simple practice of knowledge introduction. There is an obvious intertextual relationship between his translation and the context in which the translation took place. In the campus context of Cheeloo University

Lao She’s translation not only reveals his efforts to meet the internal knowledge production demands of the university

but also reflects his attitude and stance on the knowledge production system in a subtle way. If the scrutinization is extended from Cheeloo University to literary and artistic thoughts in the 1930s

Lao She’s translation practice can also be regarded as an indirect response to contemporary literary controversy.