A Report On The E-C Translation Of Aesop’s Fables From The Perspective Of Rewriting Theory

The years after reform and opening up have witnessed the thriving development in children’s literature translation in China.Many children’s classics have been retranslated.Aesop’s Fables is one of them.This translation task was commissioned by Sichuan Lexicographical Press,Co.,Ltd who launched a project for the retranslation and adaptation of children’s classics.In that project,the present author was in charge of the retranslation and adaptation of Aesop’s Fables.The translation task started in October 2019 and ended on January 17,2020,lasting three and a half months.In this translation activity,the publisher,as the patron,exerted influence in many aspects.This report,from the perspective of rewriting theory,investigates the influence of the three factors,namely patronage,poetics and ideology,on the Chinese translation of Aesop’s Fables by the present author by means of induction and case study.In this translation practice,the patronage,poetics and ideology involved in rewriting theory exerted influence in different translation stages.In the pre-translation stage,the present author finally chose George Fyler Townsend’s English version of Aesop’s Fables(hereinafter referred to as Townsend’s version)as the source text and selected 65 stories therefrom to translate based on the publisher’s requirements on the copyright of the source text and the length of the target text,Zheng Zhengduo’s selection standards for mediating texts in indirect translation and Fang Ping’s view about the English versions of Aesop’s Fables.In the stages of translation production and proofreading,the patron’s requirements on language style is consistent with the current mainstream poetics of children’s literature that the target language should accord with children’s language features and thinking patterns.In addition,the ideologies of the translator and the patron also influenced the wording of the target text.Therefore,the choice of language was mainly influenced by poetics and ideology.In translation production,the present author found the target text loyal to the source text could not raise children’s interest because Townsend’s version is designed for adults.Therefore,the present author was allowed to do proper rewritings,additions and deletions based on children’s acceptability and language preference and requirements on stylistic layout.Therefore,the selection of translation strategies was influenced by the patronage,poetics,and ideology.After this translation practice,the present author finds that the poetics and ideology take different shapes in different historical periods.Therefore,the retranslation for children’s classics is needed because new translation versions which are acceptable to the new poetics and ideology in new era are required to meet the new needs of target readers.The results obtained in this report can be used to explain why and how to retranslate children’s classics.Therefore,this report serves as a reference for the retranslation of children’s classics.