A Study On The Influence Of Target Language Ideology And Poetics On The English Translation Of Chen Ai Luo Ding From The Perspective Of Rewriting Theory

Chen Ai Luo Ding,published in 1998 by People’s Literature Publishing House,is the first novel by the Tibetan author,Alai.Over the past twenty years and more,the book has won several literary prizes,including the prestigious Mao Dun Literary Award,and a TV series of the same name adapted from the book also came out in2003.With its theme on Tibetans,a soupcon of magical flavour and a unique narrative perspective,coupled with Alai’s dynamic and poetic language,Chen Ai Luo Ding is well received by readers.In 2002,the English version of this book,Red Poppies: A Novel of Tibet,co-translated by Howard Goldblatt and his wife Sylvia Li-chun Lin,was published by Houghton Mifflin Company.The book has attracted extensive attention from readers and reviewers in the English World.The changes in diction actually reveal more profound differences in ideology and poetics.Unlike Chinese readers,most westerners hold a different view when it comes to China’s minority group policy and the political status of Tibet and Tibetans,as well as the true history of Tibet.Many westerners believe Tibet is a peaceful and calm place while the book contains many brutal plots.How would such ideological differences influence the translation? Besides,the Chinese book frequently switches between first person and third person narrative perspectives,posing a challenge for the translator.On top of that,the story develops slowly and contains too much narration but very few dialogues.If rendered literally,these poetic features may not be well received by western readers.In this case,how would the poetics of the target language influence the translation?This study uses Lefevere’s rewriting theory as its guide and focuses on the two major factors of ideology and poetics.The research is carried out through the method of descriptive research.The article consists of five parts: introduction,literature review,target language ideological influences on the translation and target language poetic influences on the translation.The first part is a simple introduction of the author Alai,the book Chen Ai Luo Ding,the translators Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin and the book’s English version Red poppies:a Novel of Tibet,and it also points out the research problems and significance of this paper,and at the end of it,the framework of the article.The first chapter is a literature review,which combs the studies of the English translation by scholars at home and abroad,and makes a brief research review on Lefevere’s rewriting theory.The second chapter discusses targetlanguage ideological influences on the translation,including the vague Chinese and Tibetan ethnic relations in the translation,the exaggerated mystical and magical factors.The third chapter discusses target language poetic influences on the translation,including the change of narrative perspective,the weakening of the fool’s language features,and the change of free direct quotation to direct quotation.The fourth chapter summarizes the full text and points out the limitations of this paper.