On The Soul Of Translation Of China

Although research works on Lu Xu have been innumerable, those on translator Lu Xun are still very few and it is in need of urgent exploration, thus it is a worthwhile subject to study. Furthermore, for the new proposition of Lu Xun as a translator, there are still many different opinions and disagreements. This thesis aims at further study on the basis of the previous Lu Xun Studies, striving to demonstrate a new proposition and explore the value and significance of Lu Xun's translated literature, as well as the revelation of his literary translations to the new century.This thesis starts from the translator identity of Lu Xun to make an in-depth discussion and research. The thesis consists of seven chapters plus an introduction and a conclusion.The Introduction discusses the necessity and value of the research on Lu Xun's translated literature. The thesis ushers in the main part from the close relationship between the formation and development of translated literature and the native literary creation in China. The thesis particularly emphasizes the great influence of China's modern translated literature upon the formation and development of its own modern literary creation: it was because of the enlightenment of translated literature that the native modern literature of China gained the opportunity for immense development. The thesis gives a systematic analysis to translator Lu Xun, and this perspective of research of Lu Xun is a new approach to understand him.The first chapter is a general discussion of translator Lu Xun. It explores the fact that Lu Xun's literary career began from translation. There are three aspects for the demonstration: his translated works of more than 5 million words, his self-definition as a translator and the value and influence of his translated literature. The thesis argues that the literary career of Lu Xun both begins and ends with translation, and there is always a close relationship between his translations and creations. The translation and introduction of foreign literature occupies a prominent position in the literary career of Lu Xun. Statistics show that Lu Xun's translations involved more than 200 foreign writers' works from 14 different countries with total words of more than 5 million and the amount of his translated works is approximately equal to that of his creations. Therefore, it is impossible to study Lu Xun's literary creation and its influence upon Chinese modern literature without studying his translated literature and the interrelation and interaction between the two. Lu Xun devoted enormous time and energy into translation and he considered his translations much more important than his creations. In particular, Lu Xun introduced those writers from "the oppressed and humiliated nations" and their works with the intention of using their experiences for reference to awaken the Chinese people. Lu Xun put forward his unique insight in respect of language techniques, especially his efforts to use literal translation as the main method of translation to introduce into China the new ideas and expressions of foreign countries and to revive the literature of those "silenced nations". It is obviously seen that the intention of Lu Xun's translation is to save his nation and the people of his country, and to "steal" from other countries the "fire" and lighten the new hope of prosperity for his own nation. His intention of translation is noble-minded and shares the equal greatness with the fire-stealing Prometheus. In addition, through the translations he introduces the fresh and lively style and vocabulary of western languages. Lu Xun attempts to produce some new words and improve the linguistic structure of the Chinese language and even to renewal the thinking pattern of the Chinese people. Lu Xun's ideas on translation cover almost all aspects of translation and his unique insight and in-depth analyses of translation are precious treasures in the history of translation of modern China which can still guide our literary translations today.Chapter Two discusses Lu Xun's theory of translated literature. To Lu Xun, "translation is life", He took his translation as the bridge of intermediate to "seek new voices from foreign countries", and therefore, this thesis takes the philosophical concept of "intermediate" as the basis of his translation theory. This chapter traces the origin of Chinese traditional culture of the concept of "intermediate" from Zhou Yi, which forms the basis of Lu Xun's unique translation theory. This chapter also discusses the interrelation between the concept of "intermediate" and the classical concepts of Confucius, as well as western philosophy, especially Lu Xun's partial acceptance of Nietzsche's theory of superman. In addition, this chapter explores into the historical background upon which the concept of "intermediate" developed, and makes a comparison between the foreignizing translation technique of Lu Xun and the foreignizing translation theory of Venuti, the modern American translation theorist, to demonstrate the extraordinary foresight and unique value of Lu Xun's technique of translation. This Chapter also expounds the bridging function of "intermediate" as an outstanding contribution in the transitive period in three aspects: 1) The transition of the language of Lu Xun from ancient Chinese to plain literary Chinese and then to modern Chinese; 2) The evolving process of Lu Xun's translation techniques from "domestication" to "foreignization" and then to "optimization"of Chinese ; 3) The aspiration of enlightening the "last men" to become the "supermen" and then to the "universal men". Through the above analyses, the conclusion can be drawn that it is of great significance that Lu Xun devoted his whole life to build the "intermediate" bridge of translation. The thesis lays its emphasis upon the argument that Lu Xun not only took his life as an "intermediate", but also took translation as an "intermediate" to bridge the gap of misunderstanding between Chinese culture and the western cultures, and his intention was to use such "intermediate" to open a door to the world and find a way to the nation's prosperity. It is due to his philosophical concept of "intermediate" that he can treat Chinese and western culture rationally, without the prejudice of blindly advocating any one of them. Standing in the middle of the two cultures yet above them both, Lu Xun could observe and meditate and criticize the faults of them to understand profoundly the essence of the whole universe. Lu Xun was not only concerned about the living conditions of the Chinese people, but also the existence and development of human beings as a whole. It is because of his stance of "intermediate" that his thought could surpass his contemporaries. Lu Xun put himself as the "intermediate" at the foreland of times, writing passionately and shouting out for the birth of new culture and literature for his nation.Chapter Three discusses the historical phases of Lu Xun's translation career from 1903 to 1936. According to the differences in his concepts and methods of translation, it can be roughly divided into three stages: the early stage (1903-1908), the middle stage (1909-1926) and the final stage (1927-1936). His interest and focuses of attention, as well as his concepts and methods of translations vary in different historical periods. The early stage of Lu Xun's translations focused on the concept of saving the nation through science, so the translated works in this period were mainly scientific essays and science-fictions. The art of translation in this period was largely an imitation of that of Lin Shu and the translation language was apparently a transition process from the ancient Chinese to plain modern Chinese. Lu Xun advocated the method of literal translation and made more use of colloquial Chinese in the medium stage of his translation career. Literature of the oppressed nations and a large number of novels and treatise of Russia are also included in this stage. The final stage of Lu Xun's translation laid more emphasis upon the method of literal translation and the translation mainly for the literature of Russia and the literary theories. The comparison of Lu Xun's translation among different stages indicates his different concepts and activities of translation in each period which would be of great help to the proper understanding and evaluation of the formation and development of Lu Xun's concepts of translation as well as their vital importance to his literary creations.Chapter Four offers textual analyses of Lu Xun's translated literature. According to the three stages of Lu Xun's translations, this chapter chooses representative translated works in each stage and makes textual analyses among different versions and different languages of translation. This chapter chooses Journey to the Center of the Earth as the sample text in his early stage of translation, Little Johannes and Thus Spake Zarathustra the medium stage, and Dead Souls the final stage. The languages used for comparison include German, Japanese, English and Chinese which were the referencial languages used by Lu Xun for his translations. The original texts of these chosen works are also used as references. These analyses pave the road for the discussion of the classification and techniques of Lu Xun's translated literature in the next chapter. Through the textual analyses, all kinds of slanders and bias against Lu Xun's translations will collapse themselves.Chapter Five expounds the classification and techniques of Lu Xun's translations. According to the idea of " Translation as Adaptation and Selection", the value of any type of theory lies in the extent to which it can explain and guide practice. Different theories of translation produce different methods of translation; similarly, different methods of translation can reflect the different concepts and ideas of the translator. Thus, this chapter gives a comparison among the translated works of Lu Xun in different periods to demonstrate that Lu Xun used different methods of translation to carry out translation activities of different types and exhibited different concepts and theories of translation as the time and texts were different. This chapter first makes a summary of the categories of Lu Xun's translations. Lu Xun's translations covers extensive genres, including novels, essays, plays, poems, fairy tales and literary theories. From the translation of Victor Hugo's Origine de Fantine in 1903 when Lu Xun was 22 to the translation of Gogol's Dead Souls three days before his death in 1936, Lu Xun's translated works can be classified into the following categories: 1. Popular science essays and science- fictions; 2. Works of Patriotism; 3.Children's literature; 4.Literature of the oppressed nations; 5.Works of the writers from America,England, Germany, and France; 6.Japanese literature; 7. Literature and literary theories of Russia . This chapter first gives analyses to each category to make clear the characteristics and different methods of translation, then makes a comparative textual analysis of the representative translated works of Lu Xun in each period. A summary of the art of translation in different periods is made based on the above analyses, such as the techniques of adaptation, free translation, literal translation, combination of free and literal translation, transliteration, ellipsis and transformation etc.. The analyses here give evident examples of Lu Xun's translations and make a good counterattack against those who accused Lu Xun's translations as only "dead translations". Such analyses also offer us chances to examine the ideas and theories of Lu Xun's translations, to confirm the artistic features and rules of it through his texts of translations. In addition, these analyses serve as proofs of the value of the idea "Translation as Adaptation and Selection" to translation activities.Chapter Six is a discussion of the influence of Lu Xun's translated literature. By analyzing the internal and international influences as well as the functions of cross-cultural communication of Lu Xun's translated literature from the perspective of communication theory, this chapter summarizes its immense influence and communicative significance and further explores the communicative significance of translated literature in the new century. This chapter indicates that as the whole world enters into the 21st century which features in globalization, cross-cultural communication will penetrate into all fields of human life thus influencing our modes of thinking and behavior from different aspects. Translation as the bridge for communication between Chinese and western peoples, should be a bi-directional communicative channel. It touches upon every aspect of human life and culture, and even the symbols of cultural communication are involved in the activities of translation. However, in the long period of the cultural communications between China and western countries, ours was primarily the "import" of translation communication, and the "export" of translation communication was in an embarrassing situation of rarity which did not match the identity of China as an ancient nation with brilliant civilization. In this new age when cross-cultural communication is becoming more and more frequent, whether or not the Chinese culture can resume its eminent status and glory and exert its worldwide effect, depends to a great extent upon translation activities. The translations of Lu Xun's literature provides beneficial experiences for the new-age's cross-cultural communication, and offers a proof to the bidirectional nature of communication and the possibility of Chinese culture's worldwide spread. After analyzing the worldwide spread of Lu Xun's translated literature in the past and at present, this chapter foretells the future, and concludes that as Chinese language is spreading and accepted all around the world, so will Lu Xun's literary creation and his spirit and ideas. Meanwhile, the referential significance and effect of Lu Xun's translated literature in new-age's cross-cultural communication will be identified more and more clearly by the whole world.Chapter Seven is a discussion of the contemporary revelation of Lu Xun's translated literature. It summarizes the contemporary revelation and monumental value of Lu Xun's translated literature. The center of Lu Xun's spirits lies in his consciousness of suffering for his nation, and this consciousness derives from the Chinese traditional culture. From the summary of the relationship between Lu Xun's career of translation and the theory of "intermediate", his life philosophy, the chapter generalizes the origin of the traditional culture of this theory and the western influence upon it. From a global view, this chapter also generalizes the immortal achievements of Lu Xun as the soul of translation in China, the beneficial experiences of the worldwide spread of his translated literature and its contemporary revelation. Lu Xun's career of translation demonstrates that translation is the bridge of communication, the criterion of value, the sand and stone that pave the roads and bear the weight, and the changes for innovation and pioneering. The immortal translation spirit of Lu Xun goes beyond space and time, offering invaluable experiences and indicating the way to progress. This chapter then summarizes the value of Lu Xun's translated literature by the eternal standards of human beings: truthfulness, goodness and beauty. The truthfulness of Lu Xun's translation lies in his persistent pursuit of truth and his literal translation style. It is his pursuit of nobility and truth that guides him to choose those texts which are beneficial to the Chinese people. The goodness of Lu Xun's translation lies in his generous kindness and deep sympathy for the poor. Lu Xun is a writer "with his boundless love for the weak and poor, shouts and fights for the suppressed and insulted ". He connected China and the world with his pen and his literal translation, expressed his indignation, enthusiasm and his profound sympathy for the mass of laborers. The beauty of Lu Xun's translation lies in his spirit of innovation and courage of pioneering. He "learnt from the contemporary and maintained the excellence of the ancient thus created the new model". Lu Xun learnt from all kinds of achievements in literature and art, ancient and modern, home and abroad with a unique generosity and foresight. Particularly, he used the techniques of western novels as reference and combined them with the traditions of Chinese classic novels and thus developed and established a new mode for contemporary novel in China. Nationality and originality are the fundamental elements for the success of Lu Xun's literary creation, and the typicality and individuality of his characters explain the reasons why his creation could become known worldwide. Lu Xun's creations on novels are invaluable treasures that belong to human beings as a whole.The Conclusion sums up the value and significance of Lu Xun's translated literature. Lu Xun's translation is the bridge leading to the Chinese people's dream of becoming the self-reliant "universal men". In this new era of cross-cultural communication, the spirit and life of Lu Xun's translations is still inspiring and giving us profound revelation. Today, to our Chinese people who are becoming "universal men", what are the real meanings and purposes of our life? From Lu Xun's translation life, we can find a way to realize our Chinese dream and further more the dream of the entire human race.The intention and the significance of this dissertation is to make up for the weak points in the study on Lu Xun, to generalize the influence of Lu Xun's translated literature upon the modern literature in China and to get some beneficial references and experiences for the development of translated literature and cross-cultural communication in the new age through the discussion of Lu Xun's translated literature.The originalities of this thesis lie in the following aspects: 1. On the base of the previous study go on for the further research, this dissertation puts forward and proves the idea"Lu Xun became a translator first, and then became a writer".This idea is neither in agreenment with the old viewpoint of denying of Lu Xun's achievement in translation nor in agreenment with the extreme new idea that "Lu Xun is above all a translator". This dissertation fully affirms the great achievements of Lu Xun's translation and recognizes Lu Xun as a great translator. But to take an all-sided observation,Lu Xun's greatest achievement and contribution lie in his literature creation ,especially his short novels which are the fruits of his combination of the western new enlightenment and the ancient Chinese traditional culture. 2. Starting from his philosophical concept of "intermediate" to analyze the function of the "intermediate" bridge of Lu Xun's translation, and to study translator Lu Xun. 3 Selecting representative translated works of Lu Xun in his different stages of translation to give textual analyses, using those languages that Lu Xun made use of, such as Chinese, English, German and Japanese. Based on those textual analyses, Lu Xun's translation ideas and techniques are generalized. This kind of comparative textual analyses has seldom been done before. 4. Conducting a comparison between the translation theories of Lu Xun with Venuti's. It is a new perspective to make such comparisons. This dissertation also attempts to analyze the influence and the spread of Lu Xun's translated literature ,using communication theory, and making it a new starting point for the further study in the field of the communications of translated literature in this new age.