Olivia Milburn

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, ^[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]

Contributions

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]

Selected works

• The Glory of Yue: An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue shu. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010. ISBN   9789047443995. ^[10]
• Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2013. ISBN   9780674726680. ^[4]
• Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015. ISBN   9780295994604. ^[5]
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2016.  ISBN   9789004309661. ^[6]
• The Empress in the Pepper Chamber: Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021. ISBN   978-0295748757.
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: A Novel of the Ancient Chinese World at War. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2022. ISBN   9780520380516. ^[11]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 1, The Curse of the Bao Lords. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN   9780520381001 ^[12]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 2, The Exile Returns. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN   9780520381032. ^[13]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 3, The Death of a Southern Hero. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN   9780520381070. ^[14]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 4, The Assassins Strike. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN   9780520381100. ^[15]
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue: A Literary Translation of the First Chinese Novel Wu Yue chunqiu. New York: State University of New York Press, 2024. ISBN   9781438499352. ^[16]
• Khitan and Mongol Imperial Women in the Chinese Imagination: Ming Fantasies about Conquest Dynasty Harems. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2025. ISBN   9781802075946. ^[17]

Selected translations

• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, Decoded. London: Allan Lane, 2014; and New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. ISBN   9781250062352.
• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, In the Dark. London: Penguin, 2015. ISBN   9780141391458.
• (With Christopher Payne) Jiang Zilong, Empires of Dust. London: ACA Publishing, 2019. ISBN   9781910760338.
• 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 ^[18]
• (With James Trapp and Christopher Payne) Jia Pingwa, Old Kiln. London: ACA Publishing, 2025. ISBN   9781838905262. ^[19]

References

1. "Olivia Milburn | School of Chinese, HKU". The University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
2. Kim, Boram (October 17, 2008). "Professor Olivia Milburn: At Home in the World". Seoul National University.
3. Mei, Jia (22 August 2018). "China recognizes 15 in prestigious book awards". China Daily.
4. Reviews of Cherishing Antiquity:
   • Miles, Steven B. (June 2014). "Review: Olivia Milburn. Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom". The American Historical Review. 119 (3): 867–868. doi:10.1093/ahr/119.3.867.
   • Marmé, Michael (February 2015). "Review: Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom". The Journal of Asian Studies. 74 (1): 204–205. doi:10.1017/S0021911814001909. JSTOR   43553667. S2CID   161377122.
   • Chang, Chun-Shu (September 2015). "Review: Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom". Journal of World History. 26 (3): 686–691. doi:10.1353/jwh.2015.0029. JSTOR   43901792. S2CID   164031036.
   • Farmer, J. Michael (December 2015). "Review: Cherishing Antiquity". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews. 37: 186–189. JSTOR   26357347.
   • Vogt, Paul Nicholas (January 2016). "Review: Milburn, Olivia:Cherishing Antiquity. The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom" (PDF). Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 111 (2): 182–184. doi:10.1515/olzg-2016-0064. S2CID   163973907.
   • Brindley, Erica (2017). "Review". Chinese Literature Today. 6 (1): 143. ProQuest   2118188760.
5. Reviews of Urbanization in Early and Medieval China:
   • Feng, Linda Rui (2014). "Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou trans. by Olivia Milburn (review)". China Review International. 21 (2): 185–188. doi:10.1353/cri.2014.0017. JSTOR   24859876.
   • Zhang, Cong Ellen (November 2016). "Review: Urbanization in Early and Medieval China". Journal of Chinese History. 1 (1): 214–215. doi: 10.1017/jch.2016.16 .
   • Felt, David Jonathan (April–June 2018). "Review: Urbanization in Early and Medieval China". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 138 (2): 442–443. doi: 10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.2.0442 . JSTOR   10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.2.0442.
6. Reviews of The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan:
   • Pines, Yuri (January–March 2018). "Review: The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 138 (1): 147–149. doi: 10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.1.0147 . JSTOR   10.7817/jameroriesoci.138.1.0147.
   • Weingarten, Oliver (April 2018). "Review: Milburn, Olivia: The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan". Asiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques. 72 (1): 305–317. doi:10.1515/asia-2017-0087. S2CID   104021708.
7. Davis, Chris (11 June 2014). "Unlocking China's literary gems through translation". China Daily.
8. "Chinese bestsellers take on the world". The Telegraph. 4 December 2018. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019.
9. "Book review: "Decoded" by Mai Jia (Trs by Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne)". The Independent. 26 January 2014.
10. Reviews of The Glory of Yue:
    • Weingarten, Oliver (2011). "Review: Olivia Milburn: The Glory of Yue: An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue shu". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 74 (3): 511–513. doi:10.1017/S0041977X11000619. JSTOR   41288006.
    • Brindley, Erica (March 2012). "Review: The Glory of Yue: An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue Shu". Journal of Chinese Philosophy. 39 (1): 163–165. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6253.2012.01708.x.
11. Chaffetz, David (2022-03-14). "Two New Translations of Feng Menglong's Classic "Chronicles"". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
12. Menglong, Feng (2023-10-31). Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 1: The Curse of the Bao Lords. Translated by Milburn, Olivia. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-38100-1.
13. Menglong, Feng (2023-10-31). Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 2: The Exile Returns. Translated by Milburn, Olivia. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-38103-2.
14. Menglong, Feng (2023-10-31). Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 3: The Death of a Southern Hero. Translated by Milburn, Olivia. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-38107-0.
15. Menglong, Feng (2023-10-31). Kingdoms in Peril, Volume 4: The Assassins Strike. Translated by Milburn, Olivia. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-38110-0.
16. Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue.
17. "Khitan and Mongol Imperial Women in the Chinese Imagination | Home". Default Book Series. doi:10.3828/9781802075946 . Retrieved 2025-07-01.
18. Fang, Fang (2022-11-18). "The Walls of Wuchang". Sinoist Books. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
19. "Old Kiln". Sinoist Books. Retrieved 2025-06-30.