Abstract
Rickshaws originated in Meiji Japan, spread across Asian countries, and became especially popular in modern China. They were not only a classic theme in Chinese literary history but also had a great impact on lifestyles and social transformations since the modern era. As an industrial product, an occupational identity and a way of life, the rickshaw constitutes a key entry point for re-examining transnational experiences. Its emergence was shaped by unequal and incompatible conceptual frameworks between East and West. This invention was mediated through conceptual translations, travel writings and literary works, showing observers' admiration for power and assuagement of suffering, praise of civilization and concealment of moral tensions, as well as fascination with cultural spectacle and oppression of coercive power. The representations of rickshaws in Eastern and Western writings are marked by sharp differences and contradictions, reflecting the interplay and tensions between national progress and global currents. By adopting a more inclusive and critical translingual perspective and drawing on diverse primary sources, this essay reconstructs the global trajectory of rickshaws, compares Eastern and Western writings on a broader basis, and seeks to build a dynamic discourse that directly engages with historical conflicts and confrontations.
Keywords
rickshaw, translingual writing, the modern era, dynamic discourse
First Page
59
Last Page
69
Recommended Citation
Huang, Ruoze. 2026. "The Translingual Writing of Rickshaws since the Modern Era." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 46, (2): pp.59-69. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol46/iss2/6
