Olivia Milburn Explained

Olivia Milburn (born 1976) is a sinologist, author and literary translator who specialises in Chinese cultural history and in Chinese minority groups.

Life and career

Milburn is a professor at the School of Chinese, Hong Kong University.^[1]

Milburn grew up in a multilingual family living in eight different countries,and became interested in Chinese literature as a teenager, after reading a translation of the Dream of the Red Chamber.She completed a bachelor's degree at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford in 1998, a master's at Downing College, University of Cambridge in 1999, and a doctorate in classical Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2003. After working as a lecturer at the University of London, she joined Seoul National University in 2008 and was appointed as a professor there in 2017. She started her current role at Hong Kong University in April 2022.

Contributions

Milburn has authored several books including Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom, Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou, and The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan.

She is also a literary Chinese-to-English translator. Her translations include the bestselling novel Decoded by Mai Jia (co-translated by Christopher Payne), which caught her attention because of a family connection: her grandfather was a codebreaker in World War II, like the book's protagonist. Her translation has been praised for its "tightly wrought aphorisms" and for "the classic beauty and elegant taste of the language".^{[2] [3]}

In 2018, Milburn's translation work was recognised by the Chinese government with a Special Book Award of China, which honours contributions to bridging cultures and fostering understanding.

Selected works

• The Glory of Yue: An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue shu. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010. .
• Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2013. .
• Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015. .
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2016. .
• The Empress in the Pepper Chamber: Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021. ISBN 978-0295748757.

Selected translations

• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, Decoded. London: Allan Lane, 2014; and New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. .
• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, In the Dark. London: Penguin, 2015. .
• (With Christopher Payne) Jiang Zilong, Empires of Dust. London: ACA Publishing, 2019. .
• Mai Jia, The Message. London: Head of Zeus, 2020. ISBN 978-1789543018.
• Feng Jicai, Faces in the Crowd: 36 Extraordinary Tales of Tianjin. London: Sinoist Books, 2020. ISBN 978-1910760482.
• Feng Jicai, A Looking-Glass World. London: Sinoist Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1838905149
• Fang Fang, The Walls of Wuchang. London: Sinoist Books 2022. ISBN 9781838905118^[4]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: A Novel of the Ancient Chinese World at War. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2022. ISBN 9780520380516.^[5]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 1, The Curse of the Bao Lords. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381001 ^[6]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 2, The Exile Returns. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381032. ^[7]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 3, The Death of a Southern Hero. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381070. ^[8]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 4, The Assassins Strike. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381100. ^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Olivia Milburn School of Chinese, HKU . 2022-04-27 . The University of Hong Kong . en-US.
2. News: Chinese bestsellers take on the world. https://web.archive.org/web/20190715171557/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/china-watch/culture/chinese-novel/. dead. 15 July 2019. 4 December 2018. The Telegraph.
3. News: Book review: "Decoded" by Mai Jia (Trs by Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne). 26 January 2014. The Independent.
4. Web site: Fang . Fang . 2022-11-18 . The Walls of Wuchang . 2023-10-04 . Sinoist Books . en-US.
5. Web site: Chaffetz . David . 2022-03-14 . Two New Translations of Feng Menglong's Classic "Chronicles" . 2022-04-23 . Asian Review of Books . en-US.
6. Book: Menglong, Feng . Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 1: The Curse of the Bao Lords . 2023-10-31 . University of California Press . 2023 . 978-0-520-38100-1 . en . Milburn . Olivia.
7. Book: Menglong, Feng . Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 2: The Exile Returns . 2023-10-31 . University of California Press . 2023 . 978-0-520-38103-2 . en . Milburn . Olivia.
8. Book: Menglong, Feng . Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 3: The Death of a Southern Hero . 2023-10-31 . University of California Press . 2023 . 978-0-520-38107-0 . en . Milburn . Olivia.
9. Book: Menglong, Feng . Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 4: The Assassins Strike . 2023-10-31 . University of California Press . 2023 . 978-0-520-38110-0 . en . Milburn . Olivia.