Lord of the Rings Translations

魔戒
(Chinese)

[Mó jiè]

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There are two official ways of writing Chinese characters for Mandarin. The Republic of China (Taiwan) uses Traditional characters. The People's Republic of China (Mainland China) uses Simplified characters, in which a couple thousand of the most common characters have been simplified.

How can you tell whether your Chinese copy of LOTR is in Traditional or Simplified characters? If the publisher is in Taiwan, then it's in Traditional characters, otherwise it's in Simplified characters, but the simplest way is to open the books and look at the text. If the text is horizontal, then it's in Simplified characters and read from left to right/top to bottom. If it's vertical, it's in Traditional characters and read from top to bottom/right to left. While that rule doesn't always work for other books or printed materials, for the LOTR publication history, it does (so far). The following scans are from a Traditional text and a Simplified text.

< Traditional

Simplified >

Traditional Characters

魔戒, Lord of the Rings (Chinese)

魔戒 (Chinese [Traditional] A), purchased on-line from diversityoflife, Massachusetts, on ebay in 2019 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 1, 魔戒現身. Linking, 2001. ISBN: 957-08-2336-4

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 2, 雙城奇謀. Linking, 2001. ISBN: 957-08-2337-2

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 3, 王者再臨. Linking, 2001. ISBN: 957-08-2338-0

When I purchased these on ebay they were ex-library copies so the dust jackets, which were just standard movie stills, were quite trashed with library stickers, tears, tape, and other damage. Removing the dust jackets revealed these great Alan Lee paintings on the actual covers (top), which are far superior to the movie stills.

In the Fall of 2021, I ordered a Chinese set from Multilingual Books of Seattle. They didn't have the set pictured on their website in stock so they offered to get a set for me from Amazon. The set they acquired and sent was this same Traditional Chinese set, but in new condition with the movie still dust jackets intact (bottom). The volumes without dust jackets, published in 2001, are clearly ready for sale without the dust jackets (and dust jackets are rarely included on paperbacks). This happens (as with some of the Rings of Power paperbacks from Europe) when the publisher wants to ensure high sales by tying the books to a forthcoming major television or film event. In this case stills from the first Peter Jackson movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, were chosen for the dust jackets of all three volumes.

魔戒 (Chinese [Traditional] C), purchased on-line from superbuy.com in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Second Edition. Vol. 1, 魔戒現身. Linking, 2012. ISBN: 978-957-08-4100-8

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Second Edition. Vol. 2, 雙城奇謀. Linking, 2012. ISBN: 978-957-08-4101-5

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Second Edition. Vol. 3, 王者再臨. Linking, 2012. ISBN: 978-957-08-4102-2

魔戒 (Chinese [Traditional] B), purchased on-line from China Global Mall, Wuhu in 2024 (paperback in box with Hobbit and Legendarium booklet [below])

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Han Li. Vol. 1, 魔戒同盟. Shuangxi Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 978-626-97933-5-8

———. 魔戒. Translated by Han Li. Vol. 2, 雙塔叛謀. Shuangxi Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 978-626-97933-6-5

———. 魔戒. Translated by Han Li. Vol. 3, 王者歸來. Shuangxi Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 978-626-97933-7-2

哈比人 (Chinese [Traditional] [H]), on-line from China Global Mall, Wuhu in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 哈比人: 又名冒險歸來. Translated by Han Li. Shuangxi Publishing, 2024. ISBN: 978-626-97933-4-1

Simplified Characters

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] Q), purchased on-line from superbuy.com in 2024 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Ding Di. Vol. 1, 魔戒再现. Yilin Publishing House, 2001. ISBN: 978-7-80657-250-4

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinrong Yao. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Yilin Publishing House, 2001. ISBN: 978-7-80657-266-5

———. 魔戒. Translated by Dingjiu Tang. Vol. 3, 王者无敌. Yilin Publishing House, 2001. ISBN: 978-7-80657-267-2

魔戒, 前传: 霍比特人 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] F), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒, 前传: 霍比特人. Translated by Yao Li. Yilin Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 978-7-80657-190-3

魔戒, 起源: 精灵宝钻 (Chinese [Simplified] [S] A), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒, 起源: 精灵宝钻. Translated by Yao Li. Yilin Publishing House, 2004. ISBN: 978-7-80657-727-1

魔戒, Lord of the Rings (Chinese)

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] A), purchased on-line from muller boyer, France on ebay in 2019 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Di Ding. Vol. 1, 魔戒再现. Yilin Press, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-250-3

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinrong Yao. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Yilin Press, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-266-X

———. 魔戒. Translated by Dingjiu Tang. Vol. 3, 王者无敌. Yilin Press, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-267-8

霍比特人 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] E), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒: 霍比特人. Translated by Yao Li. Yilin Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-190-6

精灵宝钻, 魔戒起源 (Chinese [Simplified] [S] B), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 精灵宝钻, 魔戒起源. Translated by Yao Li. Yilin Publishing House, 2004. ISBN: 07-80657-727-0

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] H), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Di Ding. Vol. 1, 魔戒再现. Yilin Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-250-3

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinrong Yao. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Yilin Publishing House, 2004. ISBN: 7-80657-398-4

———. 魔戒. Translated by Dingjiu Tang. Vol. 3, 王者无敌. Yilin Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-399-2

霍比特人 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] B), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒 (前传): 霍比特人. Translated by Yao Li. Yilin Publishing House, 2002. ISBN: 7-80657-190-6

The cover art depicts the multiracial Fellowship of the Ring from the first volume of LOTR rather than the band of dwarves (plus one hobbit) from Hobbit.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] P), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Ding Di. Vol. 1, 魔戒再现. Yilin Publishing House, 2011. ISBN: 978-7-5447-1037-4

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinrong Yao. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Yilin Publishing House, 2010. ISBN: 978-7-5447-1038-1

———. 魔戒. Translated by Dingjiu Tang. Vol. 3, 王者无敌. Yilin Publishing House, 2010. ISBN: 978-7-5447-1039-8

Revised by Shaobo Guo

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] N), purchased on-line on Amazon in 2024 (hardback in box [below])

ISBN for set: 978-7-5447-2040-3

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 1, 魔戒现身. Yilin Press, 2011.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 2, 双城奇谋. Yilin Press, 2011.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 3, 王者再临. Yilin Press, 2011.

魔戒, Lord of the Rings (Chinese)

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] B), purchased on-line from Shanghai Store US on Amazon in 2019 (paperback in box)

ISBN for set: 978-7-208-12165-2

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 1, 魔戒同盟. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2013.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 2, 双塔殊途. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2013.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 3, 王者归来. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2013.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] I), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (paperback)

ISBN for set: 978-7-5447-3042-6

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 1, 魔戒现身. Yilin Publishing House, 2013.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 2, 双城奇谋. Yilin Publishing House, 2013.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 3, 王者再临. Yilin Publishing House, 2013.

魔戒, Lord of the Rings (Chinese)

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] C), purchased on-line from Love Promotion Ltd on Amazon in 2021 (paperback in box)

ISBN for set: 978-7-208-11303-9

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 1, 魔戒同盟. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2018.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 2, 双塔殊途. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2018.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 3, 王者归来. Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2018.

The back covers and spines for this edition have a rather unusual integrated design. The spines alone are a piece of the usual map of Middle Earth, but just the far eastern edge, east of Barad-dûr.

While this may seem a bit odd, since nothing in the LOTR text occurs in this section of the map, the map on each volume's spine wraps around onto the back cover (below left). This leads to the rather interesting feature that each map is a bit farther east (or west) than its neighbor.

If you compare the image of just the spines with the image of the backs and spines together, you'll see that the spines alone are shown in the opposite order from the image that includes the backs. That's because other editions with integrated art on the spines have the volumes in the left-to-right order of FR, TT, RK. But Chinese sets have the volumes in reverse order, so the spines are in the order of RK, TT, FR. If we look at just the back of RK and the three spines (above right), we see that much of the usual map of Middle Earth from just west of the Shire to the wastes of Rhûn is present.

This is a rather interesting design, but because the volumes are placed in the box in the order RK, TT, FR, the map on the back of RK stretches from the Shire to Barad-dûr, but the map on the back of FR stretches from just west of Weathertop to Rhûn and the Shire and Bree are off the left edge of the cover. Had the volumes been designed to be placed in the usual order of FR, TT, RK then the map on FR would have covered all the lands described in that volume and the map on RK would have focused mainly on the lands described therein. (The Shire and the Grey Havens would be missing from the RK map, but most of the action is in Gondor and Mordor.) Fortunately for the reader, each volume contains a nice set of maps following the text.

There is one last unusual feature of this edition. Not all editions include the Appendices following the text of RK, but those that do make no visual distinction between the pages of the narrative and the pages of the Appendices. This edition, however, uses yellow paper for the Appendices in RK.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] D), purchased on-line on Amazon in 2022 (hardback in box)

ISBN for set: 978-7-208-16671-4

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 1. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 2. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 3. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 4. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 5. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. 6. Horizon, 2020.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng, Zhongge Shi, and Yunci Du. Vol. Appendix. Horizon, 2020.

This is a deluxe set apparently designed for a market outside China because there is more English on the covers, title pages, and chapter headings than usual in editions designed for Chinese markets. Another telltale sign that this edition is for the international market is that the volumes are placed in order from left to right rather than the usual Chinese order of right to left. It is specifically labelled "Deluxe Edition". There is a deluxe preservative coating over the cloth of the covers and the box that gives it a leather-like feel, there is a folded map included inside the box, there is a 4x6 reproduction of an Alan Lee painting inside each volume, there is a 4x6 photo of J.R.R. Tolkien inside the Appendix in lieu of an Alan Lee print, there are folded maps inside most of the volumes relevant to that Book, and there is a special page with a bookplate already attached (with the gates of Moria design) inside the front cover of Volume 1. This is, by far, one of the very best produced editions in my collection.

霍比特人 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] A), purchased on-line from Amazon in 2022 (hardback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 霍比特人: 插图详注本. Translated by Gang Wu. Horizon, 2020. ISBN: 978-7-208-16437-6

This is a translation of the annotated edition of The Hobbit.

Copyright Expiration and 2024 in China and Taiwan

With the expiration of the copyright to LOTR in China on 2 September 2023 (50 years past the death of Tolkien), the number of new Chinese editions exploded (this includes Chinese [Traditional] B above). Each publishing house uses a different translation, which means that the titles of each of the three volumes may vary, both in meaning an in the characters used. Thus for RK, Chinese [Simplified] E has 王者再临, "The King Returns"; F has 王者归来, "The Return of the King"; and G has 王者无双, "King of Kings" (all translations from Google Translate). This has led to reprints of existing translations, but also six new translations, five Simplified and one Traditional.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] E), purchased on-line on Amazon in 2024 (hardback in box)

ISBN for set: 978-7-5327-9321-1

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 1, 魔戒现身. Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 2, 双城奇谋. Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Xueheng Zhu. Vol. 3, 王者再临. Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2024.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] F), purchased on-line on Amazon in 2024 (paperback in box)

ISBN for set: 978-7-213-11320-8

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Weihua Tian. Vol. 1, 护戒使者. Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Weihua Tian. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Weihua Tian. Vol. 3, 王者归来. Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 2024.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] G), purchased on-line on Temu in 2024 (paperback in box [below])

ISBN for set: 978-7-5139-4574-5

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jinhua Wang. Vol. 1, 魔戒传奇. Democracy and Construction Press, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinhua Wang. Vol. 2, 双塔奇谋. Democracy and Construction Press, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinhua Wang. Vol. 3, 王者无双. Democracy and Construction Press, 2024.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] J), purchased on-line on Temu in 2024 (paperback)

ISBN for set: 978-7-5501-8929-4

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Di Ding. Vol. 2, 魔戒再现. Nanfang Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jinrong Yao. Vol. 3, 双塔奇兵. Nanfang Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Dingjiu Tang. Vol. 4, 王者无敌. Nanfang Publishing House, 2024.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] C), purchased on-line on Temu in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jin Wang. Vol. 1, 霍比特人. Nanfang Publishing House, 2024. ISBN with Chinese [Simplified] H: 978-7-5501-8929-4

This is part of a single numbered set with Chinese [Simplified] J, above. Hobbit is Volume 1 and LOTR are Volumes 2-4.

This set (LOTR and Hobbit) may be sold in a box with the Manual for Tolkien Fans booklet [above]. My set did not arrive in a box, however.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] K), purchased on-line on Temu, 2024 (paperback in box [below])

ISBN for set: 978-7-208-18336-0

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 1. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 2. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 3. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 4. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 5. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. 6. Horizon, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Jiawan Deng. Vol. A. Horizon, 2024.

霍比特人 (Chinese [Simplified] [H] D), purchased on-line from Temu in 2024 (paperback)

Tolkien, J.R.R. 霍比特人. Translated by Gang Wu. Horizon, 2024. ISBN: 978-7-208-18663-7

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] L), purchased on-line from Superbuy, Hong Kong, in 2024 (paperback in box [below])

ISBN for set: 978-7-02-018431-6

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Yong Yan. Vol. 1, 魔戒同盟. People’s Literature Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Hongjuan Xin. Vol. 2, 黑白双塔. People’s Literature Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Danjun Lu. Vol. 3, 王者归来. People’s Literature Publishing House, 2024.

The backs of these three volumes form a continuous map of Middle Earth, each volume featuring a section of the map that corresponds to at least half (if not all) of the action in that volume. As with most Chinese editions, the order of books on the shelf and in the box is 3, 2, 1.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] M), purchased on-line from China Global Mall, Hong Kong, in 2024 (hardback in box [below])

ISBN for set: 978-7-5541-7313-8

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Guowei Liu. Vol. 1, 魔戒同盟. Xi’an Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Nana Shan. Vol. 2, 双塔殊途. Xi’an Publishing House, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Nana Shan. Vol. 3, 王者归来. Xi’an Publishing House, 2024.

This set is advertised as the "70th Anniversary Edition" and the box includes several nice items with a number of original black and white ink drawings of scenes and characters from LOTR. They are credited to the Wenlu Illustration Studio. This includes three "Ex Libris" bookplates shown below.

These covers contain colored foil embossing of a ring around the central figure and the title in the same color below the main image, as can be seen (barely) in the central volume. My home scanner was unable to successfully capture the color of the foils on these. The first volume's foil color is yellow, the second's red, and the third's green. Even just holding them in your hand, the foils can almost disappear from view when tilting them in different ways relative to the light source in the room.

魔戒 (Chinese [Simplified] O), purchased on-line on superbuy.com in 2024 (paperback)

ISBN for set: 978-7-5762-4428-1

Tolkien, J.R.R. 魔戒. Translated by Fei Long. Vol. 1, 护戒使者. Jiangxi University Press, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Fei Long. Vol. 2, 双塔奇兵. Jiangxi University Press, 2024.

———. 魔戒. Translated by Fei Long. Vol. 3, 王者归来. Jiangxi University Press, 2024.

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