An Analysis Of Rewriting In Lin Shu’s Translation Of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

The research objects of the thesis are Uncle Tom’s Cabin that written by the American female writer Harriet Beecher Stowe and the translation of the book by Lin Shu.The work was born during the American Civil War.It is a work that reflects the miserable situation of American slaves.Once published,it had aroused strong social repercussions.It was also considered to be the trigger of the American Civil War.Truly,it was the product of the specific era.The work had been translated into different languages,among which many Chinese translators in different periods had also translated it.Lin Shu’s translation of the book also had a positive impact and was widely accepted in his time.It is not hard for us to find that Lin Shu’s adopted ancient writing style to translate the book and many translation phenomena in his translation cannot be explained by applying traditional translation standards.His translation of the book remains a literary classic even at present.So,the research of his translation can provide a guiding significance for the research of similar literary translation works.Based on Lefevere’s rewriting theory,the thesis analyzes the rewriting in Lin Shu’s translation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.Ideology in rewriting theory is not limited to the political realm,but refers to the form,norm and belief that command our action.Meanwhile,ideology,together with patronage,constitutes the external factors of literature,which promote or hinder literary creation and translation.The poetics in rewriting theory includes two aspects.One is a list,which includes literary techniques,genres,themes,symbols,characters and scenes.The other refers to the role and function of literature in the overall social system.After analyzing the ideology and poetics in Lin Shu’s time,the research findings are as follows: Firstly,the dominant ideology in Lin Shu’s time was still Confucianism,so rewriting under the influence of ideology includes the rewriting of religion and belief,ethical norms and views toward women.Secondly,the poetics traditions in Lin Shu’s time were still the propagating of Confucianism and the ancient writing style,so rewriting under the influence of poetics includes rewriting of themes and cultural symbol,environment and character,language and social function.When rewriting these contents,Lin Shu adopted many adaptations,such as rewriting religious thoughts and theme of female salvation with loyalty,filial piety,benevolence and righteousness in Confucianism.Also,he used domestication to rewrite language and things like cultural symbols.The research method of the thesis is descriptive,the aim of the study is not to discuss whether the translation is good or not,but to analyse why the translator’s translation somewhat deviated from the original text.By analyzing the rewriting phenomena in Lin Shu’s translation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin,the research can explain why seeming unfaithful translations could be accepted by certain readers and even become literary classics in specific periods.Through the case study,it can explain the translation phenomena in different versions of the same text.The study goes beyond language level to discuss translation phenomena and starts the research on literary translation under Lefevere’s rewriting theory.Thus a descriptive translation method and perspective can be provided.