| Pearl. S. Buck (1892-1973) is the first woman in the U.S. who won the Nobel Prize in Literature for her Chinese-subject novels. Being an outstanding female writer, she expresses her great concern to women's fate and status in her fiction and non-fiction works. Pearl not only resists and resents the patriarchal society in her writing, but also strives for the right to speak for those speechless Chinese women. Meanwhile, she is the first westerner who translated the 70-chapter version of Shui Hu Zhuan, one of the four greatest classic novels, into English under the title of All Men Are Brothers. Her translation took more than five years to complete and as soon as it was published, it was well received by the Western readers. However, All Men Are Brothers has been widely criticized by translation critics in China. Her individualistic translation strategies have become the target of public criticism. In recent years more and more research has been made on her translation, but little has been done on whether and how her feminist thoughts penetrate and influence her translation activity.For that reason, the present thesis, building on the framework of feminist translation theories, probes into the formation of Pearl's feminist thoughts and their manifestations in her writing and social activities and, more importantly, in her translation. By means of comparison and textual analyses, this research is to observe and study the translation strategies in Pearl S. Buck's translation (which is primary) and Sidney Shapiro's translated version (which is for reference) of Shui Hu Zhua, hoping to make an explanation of her special translating activity.The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction, involving the background, objectives, significance and the framework of the thesis. Chapter Two, Literature Review, addresses the groundwork for the study, including:(1) Feminism. It firstly states the definition of feminism, three waves of feminism and also the schools, characters and works appeared in each period. Secondly, it states the main concerns of feminism, that is, patriarchy and gender. Thirdly, it is the influences of feminism upon translation theory. It reviews the kernel ideas of feminist theories and feminist translation theories, indicating that feminist translation theories emphasize on the translation subjectivity from the perspective of feminism; emphasis on that translation is a political action; and the elimination of gender discrimination in translation study. (2) Feminist Translation Theories, involving:①Emphasis on Equality. It starts with the revelation of women and translators' subordinate positions and gender metaphor in the traditional translation studies. Then, it emphasizes on the equal status between the translator and the author.②Redefinition of Fidelity. Feminist translators argue that fidelity should be directed according to the "writing project", and this writing project emphasizes the collaborative relation between the translator and the author.③Rewriting in the Name of Feminie. In the translation practice, feminist translators abolish the traditional concept of "invisibility", and by means of the selection of the source text and translation strategies to highlight the subjectivity as a translator.④Pearl S. Buck's Feminist Thoughts and Studies Thereon. Chapter Three analyzes the cause and effect of Pearl S. Buck as a feminist pioneer. It first formulates the formation of Pearl S. Buck's feminist thoughts. Generally speaking, Pearl S. Buck's feminist thoughts originated from three sources:her childhood experience, her early adult experience, and her marriage. Secondly, based on an in-depth investigation of the text, it reveals Pearl S. Buck's feminism in her writing:her compassion for women's fate; her expectation for women's free choice of love and marriage; her advocacy for women's education and her pursuit of women's liberation both physically and mentally. Thirdly, Pearl S. Buck's humanism in social activities is also one aspect of the display of her feminism. The foundation of "Welcome House" and "Pearl S. Buck International" proves that she is a vocal spokesperson for equal rights. Chapter Four mainly discusses the topic of Pearl S. Buck's feminist translation strategies. As a bilingual person and feminist pioneer, Pearl S. Buck takes translation as a chance to explore her activeness, to gain a voice for women and to strive for the equality from societies. In her translating process, deleting, supplementing and deliberate tampering were adopted to eliminate gender discrimination in the source text. She incorporates her own feminist ideas into her translation of Shui Hu Zhuan, characterized by her promotion of the female characters via advocacy of respect for women, equality of men and women, and pursuit of love by women. Chapter Five is the most essential part of the thesis. In the course of research, it gives priority to in-depth investigation of the text, and takes historical materials as the supplementary. It formulates Pearl S. Buck's promotion of female characters in her translation of Shui Hu Zhuan. Her advocating the respect for female is mainly embodied in the translation of expletives and addressing forms; the equality of men and women embodied in the translation of socially marked words and "four-Chinese-character" patterns; and the love pursuit for female embodied in the translation of love words and idiomatic phrases. As a translator, she promotes women's social status through language expressions, changes their social images and helps them to achieve their self-awareness and cultural identity. Chapter Six is the Conclusion, which summarizes the major findings and implications of the present study, pointing out its limitations, and proposing suggestions for further study in this regard.Pearl S. Buck is a true practitioner of feminist translation; her feminist consciousness directly influences her understanding of the source text and her standing for women in the target text. Her translation reveals the rich connotation rooted in the source text, and her individualized translation strategies eliminates gender discrimination and values the speechless and marginalized female. As a translator, based on the attitude of respect and understanding, Pearl introduces the alien feminist culture to target readers, aiming to raise people's awareness of and concern with the oppressed female. Pearl S. Buck is a maternal woman writing for women about the problems of women. |
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