Even in the so-called age of globalisation,Western knowledge of China’s pioneering role in both theory and practice of translation is minuscule. The explanation ready at hand is often based on cultural and linguistic barriers. However, a more important cause can be found in the unwillingness in Western scholarship of dealing with what André Lefevere calls “the other.” Given this unsatisfactory state of affairs, it is hoped that this study on the role of the translator in Chinese society will contribute to a more open and inclusive approach in Western translation scholarship as postulated by André Lefevere (1992) and Mona Baker (1992).