Translator As Pianist

Through depicting the tragedies of people,especially female characters,Eileen Chang’s novel Bansheng yuan reveals the author’s thoughts on human nature and the themes she had always expressed—desolation and resignation.In terms of artistic technique,Chang highlighted the novel’s themes through large paragraphs of Shanghai writings,such as shikumen,longtang,and details of citizens’ daily lives.Its English version was translated by translator and sinologist Karen S.Kingsbury.A comparative reading of the original text and the translated text reveals that while the translator has kept the main plot of the original story,she intentionally rewrote details about the symbolic locations of Shanghai,the lifestyle of the characters and their social interactions.For example,the translator generalized words related to Shanghai longtang residential communities and famous restaurants,diminishing their features and recognizability;as to the daily lifestyle such as clothing,food,housework,transportation,etc.,the translator applied her imagination and in certain cases intentional mistranslation.Generally speaking,Kingsbury’s translation of Bansheng yuan was based on her personal understanding and emotional responses and her estimates of the Chinese experience and interest of the potential readers rather than the purpose of reproducing the original text and the original writer’s intentions faithfully.The translator has fully exhibited her subjectivity.This study aims to study Karen S.Kingsbury’s English translation of Bansheng yuan,examining her translation procedures and the effects thereof based on her translation views.