Reception Of English Translation Of Yu Hua’s Brothers:a Study From Bourdieu’s Sociology

Xiongdi is a remarkable masterpiece written by the well-know Chinese writer Yu Hua in his recent years.This novel,characterized by its original language,violent narrative mode,unique characterization,complicated plots and exotic charm,witnessed a great sensation in China after its publication.In 2009,Brothers,the English version of Xiongdi,translated by a couple,Eileen Cheng-yin Chow and Carlos Rojas,was published by Random House in America and Canada and Macmillan Publishers Limited in Great Britain.This English translated version has gained wide praise.By contrast,the reception of contemporary Chinese literature overseas in general is far from satisfaction.Many English versions of Chinese literary classics fail to obtain general acceptance and wide recognition.Therefore,it is necessary and valuable to study the underlying causes and influencing factors that lead to the popularity of Brothers in America.In translation research field,the sociological turn took place at the turn of centuries after the cultural turn.In recent years,application of sociological theories to translation researches has become one of the focuses.The sociological studies on translation are not restricted to traditional perspectives like analysis of text and language,which have made up for the deficiencies of the previous studies,and opened up a new prospect and carved out a new way for translation studies.Among all sociological theories,the theory established by the celebrated French sociologist Bourdieu Pierre is most frequently applied in translation studies.Such core concepts in Boudieusian Sociology as field,capital and habitus,are of great significance to translation studies.This thesis applies the Bourdieusian Sociology as the theoretical framework to make a tentative study on the reception of Brothers in America,analyzing related issues from the aspects of field,capital and habitus,and probing into the deep reasons and main influencing factors for the wide acceptance of this translated version.Through a detailed and systematic analysis of the American literary field and the political field,the symbolic capital of Yu Hua and his Brothers,the cultural capital of the two translators and the economic and social capital of the publishers as well as the translators’ habitus on translation,this thesis draws the following conclusions:1)Brothers meets the requirements on literary works of the American literary field and the political field in that the theme is related to the Chinese social reality criticism which caters to American readers’ interest of Chinese history and politics,and the style is in accordance with that of post-modernism literature which occupies the dominant position in the American literary field.2)The original novel and the writer possess great symbolic capital,improving the recognition and reception of the targeted text in the targeted culture;the translators’ strong cultural capital guarantee the quality of the targeted text;the publishers is full of economic and social capital,improving the status of the work,making sure that the publication and advertisement of the work reach a large audience;3)The translators’ translation habitus is reflected in their translation strategies.They integrate fidelity to the original work and appropriate idiomatic English expression in the translated version in translating practice,ensuring the high quality of the translated work and satisfying the interests of the American readers.The Bourdieusian Sociology well explain the causes of Brothers" success in America,providing valuable enlightenment for the "going-out"of Chinese literature.