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British sinologist (born 1976) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olivia Milburn (born 1976) is a sinologist, author and literary translator who specialises in Chinese cultural history and in Chinese minority groups.
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,[2] and became interested in Chinese literature as a teenager, after reading a translation of the Dream of the Red Chamber.[2][3] 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.[1]
Milburn has authored several books including Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom,[4] Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou,[5] and The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan.[6]
She is also a literary Chinese-to-English translator.[7] 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.[citation needed] Her translation has been praised for its "tightly wrought aphorisms" and for "the classic beauty and elegant taste of the language".[8][9]
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.[3]
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