| As an important part of translation research,the study of translation history has various functions such as combing the translation activities process,finding out the translating rules as well as bringing enlightenment to the later generations.This is because translation is not only a cultural activity,but also a kind of social activity.The history of translation reflects the transition of human society.Against the various historical environments,the translation history presents different features accordingly.In the 1970s,the concept of "Cultural Turn" provided the scholars a new perspective on studying translation activities,which was later further enriched into Manipulation Theory by Andre Lefevere.He considers the ideology,poetics and patronage as three basic elements in the theory and points out that they interact closely with the translation process by exerting their manipulations on the translation activity from the original text selecting to the translating strategy adoption.Starting from the May 4th period,Chinese children’s literature(CCL)has been putting its great effects on the young generations of Chinese people due to its specific aesthetic features and its educational functions.Affected by the traditional Chinese culture,CCL can be regarded as the recreational vision of the textbook.After the foundation of new China,CCL ushered in its large-scale outward translation in various languages systematically for the first time.From then on,the translation activity had been developing vigorously until the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966.Despite that the Chinese cultural activities happened in the special time span from 1949 to 1965 have attracted many scholars’ attention,most of them only focus on the translation of adult’s literature.Children’s literature is still in the edge position with limited relevant translation researches on it.Under the guidance of Manipulation Theory,the thesis aims to explore the outward translation of CCL from 1949 to 1965 with the methodologies of inductive study and quantitative analysis.First,the thesis points out that the translation activity was conducted under the unique translation model against the special historical and social background.The uniqueness is the result of following the politics-oriented translation policy and being operated by the nation-controlled publishing institution.Then,it gives an overview of the outward translation of CCL from 1949 to 1965 in view of the translated areas,the translated languages and the translation fluctuation.At the same time,the deep reasons behind the translation activity are given in light of the Manipulation Theory.Last,the text analysis is conducted on the Chinese to English(C-E)translations of two representative children’s works—Little Soldier Chang Ka-tse and Daughters and Sons—to find the main translation characteristics under the influence of the specific social factors then.The thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter one emphasizes the importance of the study on translation history and the significance brings to it by "Cultural Turn"and Manipulation Theory.Then,it gives a basic introduction to the background,questions,methodology and significance of the research.Chapter two is the literature review which combs the outward translation history of CCL.It also summarizes the relevant translation researches on CCL from 1949 to 1965 by analyzing their achievements and deficiencies.Under the guidance of Manipulation Theory,chapter three explores the outward translation process of CCL in a systematical way from such following perspectives as the specific translation policy,the special national-controlled publishing institution and the translation process,which is the most important one.Then it adopts the quantitative approach to analyze the statistics of translated children’s works so as to outline its outward translation from the angles of translated versions and translation climaxes.It is worth mentioning that the translation activity involves a wide range of languages such as English,French,Burmese,Thai,Polish and the like.Meanwhile,the translation climaxes refer to the years that publish the most volume of book.Lastly,it discloses the manipulations put on the translation activity by taking the three elements of Manipulation Theory into consideration.Speak specifically,how did the ideology,poetics and patronage of the seventeen years exert their effects on the outward translation individually while interactively.Chapter four takes the Chinese to English translations of Little Soldier Chang Ka-tse and Daughters and Sons as case study,aiming at concluding the major features of their translation under the influence of the socialism realism poetics then.Many pieces of text analysis about the two works are provided in the same chapter.Chapter five is the summary of the thesis,which concludes its major findings in a general way while pointing out its limitations at the same time.Under the guidance of Manipulation Theory,the thesis demonstrates the overview of the outward translation of CCL from 1949 to 1965 with taking two representative works as the case study to find out the distinctive translating characteristics.Under the strict control of the specific politics-oriented translation policy then,the outward translation of CCL undoubtedly has a close association with the political environment and the historical context then.As a result,the translation activity is strictly manipulated by the political ideology,socialism realism poetics together with the highest national patronage.In the dilemma between the political control and literary demands,the translators employ various translating strategies and techniques to present the main stream of CCL at that time.Meanwhile,it promotes the politics-functional cross-cultural communication between different nations then and delivers the positive image of new China to the international community.In a word,this thesis may offer certain inspirations to the outward introduction of CCL nowadays and provides the beneficial implications for the strategy of letting Chinese culture "go global". |
PDF Full Text Request