* Ten case studies covering translations of Naxi material ranging from the end of the nineteenth century to the second half of the twentieth century, from explorers, anthropologists, missionaries and poets, bringing these translations into dialogue with the present.

* Discussion of several previously unknown manuscript traditions is discovered in European archives.

* In-depth philological analysis of Naxi texts and their translations, coupled with plentiful illustrations from the manuscripts themselves.

* Connecting translation studies with the study of Chinese minority literature, affording new insights into the translation of semi-oral ritual texts.