Translator's positioning and cultural transfer with reference to The Book and the Sword

•Translator's positioning has a hold over linguistic and cultural production.•Translation has a role to play in promoting Chinese national culture.•Martial arts translation contributes to the reconstruction of Chinese identity.

Drawing on positioning theory, this study investigates how the translator, based on a certain sociocultural positioning, has reconstructed aspects of Chinese martial arts culture in the English translation of Jin Yong, with reference to The Book and the Sword. In so doing, this study foregrounds the hold of positioning over linguistic and cultural production, and particularly how the translator, as opposed to a priori and fixed modes of positioning, can perform dynamic alternative positions even on the same issue, thus practicing an ethics of balance in translation. It also calls into attention the role of translation in intercultural communication, and particularly how martial arts translation contributes to the reconstruction of Chinese national and cultural identity in the context of globalization.