1 Introduction

Since the second half of the 20th century, translation studies have undergone a paradigm shift from linguistic orientation to cultural studies and sociological perspectives. Under the new paradigm, the concept of translation is still limited to Jacobson's "interlingual translation" category. The arrival of globalization and the digital age has changed the form and content of cross-cultural communication, and traditional translation concepts are difficult to fully cover current cross-cultural communication practices. The concept of "great translation" proposed by Luo Yingwen and Feng Quangong's redefinition of translation as a "symbolic transformation activity" both attempt to break the "linguistic centrism" of translation and expand the boundaries of translation research. A new cross-cultural writing phenomenon has attracted attention from academia, represented by overseas sinologists and discrete writers whose writing practices challenge the basic assumptions of traditional translation theory. This type of writing includes various forms of translation, presenting the characteristic of "translating while writing, and writing while translating". This article defines it as "copyless translation". The introduction of the concept of "copyless translation" aims to expand the boundaries of existing translation theories, explore the challenges and extensions that "copyless translation" brings to the framework of traditional translation theory, the essential differences from traditional translation, and the new requirements for translation research methodology. This study is based on literature analysis and case studies, aiming to construct a theoretical framework for "copyless translation" and clarify its differences and connections with related concepts such as "rewriting" and "creative translation". Through in-depth exploration of the concept of 'copyless translation', this study contributes to the development of translation theory, provides a new perspective for understanding the complexity of contemporary cross-cultural communication, and has important guiding significance for translation practice and cross-cultural writing.

2. The connotation of translating without original text

'Unpublished translation' is an emerging concept in translation research, which involves multiple dimensions. Unlike traditional translation, it does not rely on a single fixed source text, but emphasizes the importance of "writing" in the translation process. The theoretical basis of this concept can be traced back to Wang Hongyin's research on "foreign language writing", involving explicit and implicit translation. The scope of 'no book translation' is broader, including writing foreign cultures using cultural symbols, writing foreign cultures using cultural symbols, and writing third-party cultures using cultural symbols. Compared with "writing in a foreign language", the naming of "non translated writing" is more accurate and better reflects the essence of using a foreign language to write about the culture of the mother tongue. In the context of 'copyless translation', the relationship between 'translation' and 'writing' is more complex, and the purpose is often to 'write' rather than 'translate'. The proposal of this concept not only expands the scope of translation research, but also provides new perspectives for some basic translation issues, such as the possibility of describing different cultural symbols in the "translatability" problem, the "relativity of translatability", and the "creativity of translation".

3 Research objects without original translation

We conducted an in-depth exploration of the research subjects of uncensored translation, dividing the subjects of uncensored translation into two categories: uncensored translators who are not familiar with the ideographic symbol system of the translated object, and uncensored translators who are proficient in the ideographic symbol system of the translated object. Due to language barriers, there are numerous errors and distortions in the translation of the first type of subject, such as the travelogues of Marco Polo and Mandeville. The second type of subject is proficient in the target language and culture, and is able to perform high-quality copyless translation, such as Lin Yutang and Gu Bin. In addition, the chapter also discusses the types of texts that can be translated without a source, including travelogues, biographies, academic works, and literature, each of which presents different characteristics in source translation. The language ability of non-native translators has a significant impact on text features, and translators who are not familiar with the target language will increase the color of translation and increase the difficulty of tracing the source. This classification helps to gain a deeper understanding of the performance of uncensored translation in different text types and provides a clear framework for subsequent research.

4 Research paths for translating without original text

Unpublished translation is a cross-cultural writing phenomenon, and its research requires diverse approaches to fully understand its complexity. Research should start from the perspective of "writing", focusing on the relationship between "translation" and "writing", and deeply understanding the form, characteristics, functions, and effects of the text. Untitled translators tend to see themselves as authors and have greater creative freedom. The research path includes: (1) language research, analyzing the language characteristics and translation strategies of the translation subject; (2) Subjectivity research, exploring the subjectivity and creativity of translators and writers; (3) Cultural studies examine the cross-cultural manipulation of translators and writers within the social, historical, and cultural context; (4) Historical research, incorporating the activity of translating without original texts into the framework of the development history of Sino Western relations; (5) Philosophical research, rethinking the relationship between "translation" and "writing" and the essence of translation. Multi dimensional research methods can help comprehensively grasp the characteristics of non authentic translation and promote the development of translation studies. In the future, digital humanities methods can be introduced and big data analysis technology can be used to provide new perspectives for research.

5 Conclusion

The introduction of the concept of "non authentic translation and writing" has expanded the field of translation research, incorporating foreign language writing into the research perspective, and together with "authentic translation and writing" and "non authentic back translation", forming a comprehensive system of translation research categories. This concept reveals the essential characteristics of copyless translation and provides new ideas for rethinking the definition and boundaries of translation. The classification and analysis of the subject and text type of non original translation has expanded our understanding of the translator's role, enriched the content of translation research, and provided a new theoretical tool for understanding cross-cultural communication. The research concept of "writing" and "translation" reveals the uniqueness of non original translation and deepens the understanding of the essence of translation. The multiple research paths proposed in this article provide a broad space for the study of non original translation, which helps to comprehensively grasp its characteristics and provide new ideas and methods for the development of the translation discipline. As an emerging research field, the field of translation without original texts has enormous potential for development and academic value, and will have a profound impact on translation studies and even the broader humanities and social sciences.