Olivia Milburn

Milburn is a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Chinese Language and Literature.[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.[1]

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. 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]