Olivia Milburn

Milburn is a professor at the School of Chinese, Hong Kong University.^[1]

Milburn grew up in a multilingual family living across 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 and was appointed as a professor there in 2017. She started her current role at Hong Kong University in April 2022.^[1]

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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.^{[citation needed]} 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 and she was awarded Special Book Award of China, which honours contributions to bridging cultures and fostering understanding.^[3]

Selected works

• The Glory of Yue: An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue shu. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010. ISBN 9789047443995.^[10]
• Cherishing Antiquity: The Cultural Construction of an Ancient Chinese Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center, 2013. ISBN 9780674726680.^[4]
• Urbanization in Early and Medieval China: Gazetteers for the City of Suzhou. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015. ISBN 9780295994604.^[5]
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2016. ISBN 9789004309661.^[6]
• The Empress in the Pepper Chamber: Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021. ISBN 978-0295748757.
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: A Novel of the Ancient Chinese World at War. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2022. ISBN 9780520380516.^[11]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 1, The Curse of the Bao Lords. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381001 ^[12]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 2, The Exile Returns. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381032.^[13]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 3, The Death of a Southern Hero. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381070.^[14]
• Feng Menglong, Kingdoms in Peril: Volume 4, The Assassins Strike. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2023. ISBN 9780520381100.^[15]
• The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue: A Literary Translation of the First Chinese Novel Wu Yue chunqiu. New York: State University of New York Press, 2024. ISBN 9781438499352.^[16]
• Khitan and Mongol Imperial Women in the Chinese Imagination: Ming Fantasies about Conquest Dynasty Harems. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2025. ISBN 9781802075946.^[17]

Selected translations

• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, Decoded. London: Allan Lane, 2014; and New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. ISBN 9781250062352.
• (With Christopher Payne) Mai Jia, In the Dark. London: Penguin, 2015. ISBN 9780141391458.
• (With Christopher Payne) Jiang Zilong, Empires of Dust. London: ACA Publishing, 2019. ISBN 9781910760338.
• Mai Jia, The Message. London: Head of Zeus, 2020. ISBN 978-1789543018.
• Feng Jicai, Faces in the Crowd: 36 Extraordinary Tales of Tianjin. London: Sinoist Books, 2020. ISBN 978-1910760482.
• Feng Jicai, A Looking-Glass World. London: Sinoist Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1838905149
• Fang Fang, The Walls of Wuchang. London: Sinoist Books 2022. ISBN 9781838905118^[18]
• (With James Trapp and Christopher Payne) Jia Pingwa, Old Kiln. London: ACA Publishing, 2025. ISBN 9781838905262.^[19]