A Patriotic Translator In A Changing Social Context: A Study Of Ma Junwu's Translation Principles And Practice

This dissertation is a study of Ma Junwu's translation principles and practice.Itgives a relatively thorough analysis of his translation principles,their characteristicsand value.It also makes a survey of his translation methods,the value of histranslations and defines the place that he should hold in China's translation history.There are eight chapters in this dissertation.Chapter One,"Introduction",starts with a brief account of Ma Junwu's career as a follower of Dr.Sun Yat-sen inhis invlovement in the activities to topple China's last feudal monarchy in the firstdecade of the 20^th century,of his painstaking work for the new republic which existedfrom 1912 to 1949 and of his productive writings and translations that enlightened theChinese people.The account is followed by a survey of the studies on Ma Junwu as arevolutionary,a provincial governor,an educator,a writer,a poet,and a translator.Italso describes the methodology,the structure and the research materials of the currentstudy.Chapter Two gives a panoramic view of Ma Junwu's translation principles.Someof these principles can be found in his translation works which are the embodiment ofwhat he thinks about translation,while others can be perceived in what he says aboutthe cross-cultural communication in the prefaces of his translated works,in hiswritings and in those by his friends,colleagues and other scholars.To discern thoseprinciples contained in his translated works,it is of necessity to examine hisexperiences as a translator as well as some of his translated works.In the light of histranslation practice,we can summarize his translation principles as the following fourpoints: first,the source text author and translator can play different roles in differentcontexts,to be more specific,the source text author is not a master in all cases--- he isa servant in some cases,so is the translator;second,foreignization and domesticationon the linguisitic level can be well integrated to fulfill cross-cultural communication; third,literary translation is a creative event;fourth,translation is adaptation andselection.His explicit views on translation can be summed up as thirteen points: first,to translate is to serve the country;second,to translate is to help China survive theperil of being carved up by the imperialist powers;third,to translate the foreignmasterpieces is to do credit to the translator's motherland;fourth,faithfulness to thesource text is primary in some cases,while in other cases,it is secondary,so is theexpressiveness;fifthly,translation is possible;sixthly,to translate is to serve practicalpurposes;seventhly,equal attention should be paid to the translation of works ofsocial sciences and natural sciences from other countries;eighthly,translation purposecan be uni-dimensional and multi-dimensional;ninthly,the source text of a translatedwork should be the latest edition;tenthly,the translation of foreign works intoChinese is the best way to make Chinese as scientific a language as possible;eleventhly,translation is a tough task;twelfthly,there are a number of ways totranslate foreign names into Chinese,and thirteenthly,a translator should share his orher feelings with the characters of the source text or the source language author in thecourse of translation.Chapter Three makes comments on the aforesaid views on translation.It ispointed out that Ma Junwu's views on translation are characterized with timeliness,practicality and creativeness.Some of his views are timely and significant becausethey meet the urgent need of China to remould the way of thinking of the Chinesepeople at that time,and to rejuvenate the nation.They are practical since they resultfrom his literary and scientific translation practice.Three of the above-mentionedexplicit views,namely the third,the fourth and part of the twelfth points,are mypersonal ideas,which,to the best of my knowledge,have not been suggested by anyother translator or scholar so far both at home and abroad.The study then moves tothe assessment of the value of some of Ma Junwu's translation principles.Theaforementioned three points are obviously of value because they are creative.Otherpoints demonstrate their own value when they are compared with the relevant pointsof culturally-oriented translation studies in the West.First,some scholars such asSusan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere hold that to translate is to rewrite,and some others such as M.Tymoczko are of the opinion that translation is not a metaphor but ametonymy.What they actually mean is that a translator has to add,delete and rewriteto meet the cultural and political needs of the target language culture.In other words,in any translation,the translator is the master and the source language author is theservant whose only contribution is to offer the source text.This view explains andjustifies those translations in which the translator adds,deletes and rewrites at his ownwill,but fails to explain and justify those translations in which the translator servesthe source language author wholeheartedly.Ma Junwu's view that the source languageauthor and the translator can play different roles in different contexts is capable ofexplaining both.In this sense,Ma's view has stronger explanatory power.Second,German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermache says in hisspeech On the Different Methods of Translating that imitation and paraphrase can notco-exist in translation,or it will result in serious consequences.Here"imitation"and"paraphrase"refer to foreignization and domestication respectively on the linguisticlevel.So what Schleiermacher really means is that foreignization and domesticationon the linguistic level can not stand side by side.But Ma Junwu's well-receivedtranslations convincingly evidences that foreignization and domestication on thelinguistic level can be integrated to accomplish the task of cross-culturalcommunication.In this reagrd,his view on the combination of the two on thelinguistic level can explain more translation phenomena.Third,Ma Junwu's view thatthe purpose of translation can be uni-dimensional and multi-dimensional appearedmore than sixty years earlier than Hans Vermeer's skopos theory.In addition,hisunderstanding of the purpose is closer to the nature of translation.Chapter Four makes an enquiry into Ma Junwu's sci-tech translations.Becausetranslation never takes place in a vaccum,but in a continuum,it is of necessity toinvestigate the continuum in which his translation takes place and the overall pictureof China's sci-tech translations of foreign scientific writings of the time.It is pointedout that his transaltions satisfy the country's needs of the time.While Ma'stranslations have many characteristics in common with those by other translators,theyalso have something of his own.After the enquiry comes the analyses of the translation methods that are employed in the course of translation.To sum up,thesemethods include dazhi (paraphrase),or some kind of rewriting,literal translation,multiple translation of the same term or name,transliteration,co-presentation of theforeign name and the translated name,co-presentation of the foreign name,thetranslated name with an explanation,the use of alien words (zero translation),thecombination of transliteration and zero translation,the borrowing of formerly-usedtranslated names,the borrowing of Japanese-translated names and innovating oftranslated names.Dazhi and literal translation can further be divided into minortechniques.Then the author gives a relatively detailed assessment of the value of MaJunwu's sci-tech translations and that of his two translation methods: dazhi and literaltranslation.As regards the former,eight points are suggested as follows: first,as theyare the first Chinese versions of its kind in the history of Chinese translation,some ofMa Junwu's translations are highly valued historical documents;second,Ma Junwu'sChinese translation of the first five chapters of Charles Darwin's The Origin ofSpecies in 1903 and his faithful translation of the said works in 1919 enable theChinese people to understand what Darwin's great works really is;third,some of MaJunwu's sci-tech translations are much appreciated by scholars and experts concemed;fourth,Ma Junwu's use of plain classical Chinese helps his translations have a widerreadership than those translations of some of his contemporaries in which elegantclassical Chinese is used;fifthly,some of Ma Junwu's sci-tech translations are highlyregarded by later translators who refer to them when they retranslate the same sourcetexts;sixthly,some of Ma Junwu's sci-tech translations draw much attention fromsome translation critics;seventhly,by showing a correct attitude toward translation,Ma Junwu sets a good example to the present-day Chinese translators,some of whomare too much preoccupied with pursuing fame and profit rather than benefiting thecountry and the society;and last but not least,Ma Junwu's sci-tech translations haveexert a positive influence on the Chinese society,to which a special section is devotedin the chapter.Conceming what good they do to the country,five points are suggested.First,Ma Junwu's Chinese translation of Darwin's works on evolution helps more andmore Chinese people understand the evolutionary theory of the great scientist;second, his Chinese translation of Herbert Spencer's feminist works gives an impetus to theChinese women's liberation movement in the early decades of the 20^th century;third,his sci-tech translations have brought about an advance in Chinese modern scienceprogramme;Fourth,his translation of Darwin's works on evolution has promoted thedevelopment of Chinese biological science and education in China;Fifthly,hissci-tech translations have helped bring more modern western scientific knowledgedirectly into China instead of importing them via Japanese versions.What follows isthe value judgment of the two translation methods: dazhi and literal translation.As tothe former,two points are advanced: first,it is the best way to introduce westerncivilization into China in the last years of the Imperial China and the years before theMay 4^th Movement in 1919;second,it has left us a considerable amount of valuedcultural heritage.As to the latter,four points are put forward.First,his literaltranslation is an important way to make Chinese as scientific a language as possible,which has been mentioned above;second,it has helped introduce the authenticforeign cultures into China;third,it has conduced to the modernization of classicalChinese language around 1919;fourth,it marks the beginning of Chinese translators'awareness of the use of literal transaltion for the importation of genuine foreigncultures.The last part of this chapter analyzes some scholars' comments on MaJunwu's translations.It is held that Ma Junwu's Chinese translation of Darwin'sworks on evolution are faithful,smooth and elegant and that his translation of CharlesDarwin's The Origin of Species is the most authoritative text of all its Chineseversions.The analyses of a number of examples from Ma Junwu's translationstestifies to the incorrectness of these comments.Chapter Five,which is made up of five sections,probes into Ma Junwu's poetrytranslation.Section one describes the situation in which his poetry translation is doneand the general picture of Chinese translators' rendering of foreign poetry at the endof the 19^th century and the early years of 20^th century.Section two enquires into thetwo translation methods of Ma Junwu's poetry translation: the faithful creativetranslation and the unfaithful creative translation.In discussing some scholar's pointof view that Ma Junwu's creative poetry writing is influenced by his poetry translation in section three,the author argues that his creative poetry writing is the result of hisconforming to the trend of creative poetry writing initiated by such poets and scholarsas Huang Zunxian,Liang Qichao,et al.,rather than the the result of the impact of hispoetry translation.Assessing the value of his poetry transaltion in section four,theauthor offers five points.First,since some of his poetry translations are the firstChinese versions of its kind in the history of Chinese poetry translation,they arehighly valued historical documents;second,some of his poetry translations are highlyappreciated by scholars;third,some of his poetry translations are highly regarded bylater translators who retranslate the same source text;fourth,his poetry translationscontribute substantially to China's treasure-house of translation of foreign poetry intoChinese in early decades of the 20^th century;fifth,his Chinese translation of Goethe'sMignon is the first literal Chinese version of the great German poem.In section five,the author argues against those comments made by scholars such as Hu Shih,LiuWuji and Fu Jiaqin,et al.on Ma Junwu's poetry translation.Composed of three sections,chapter six makes an investigation into Ma Junwu'sdrama translation.Section one gives a description of the social context in which MaJunwu's drama translation occurs and the general situation of drama translation of thecountry in the early years of 20^th century.In section two,the discussion focuses on thesix drama translation methods,namely,generalization,addition,rewriting,theintegration of addition,deletion with rewriting,generalization plus rewriting and theintegration of foreignization and domestication on the linguistic level.Section threeassesses the value of his drama translation,which can be summarized into three points.First,his Chinese translation of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell is the first version of its kindand the first Chinese version of all Schiller's works in China,so it is a highly valuedhistorical document.Second,it has a large readership with numerous printings and itis highly appreciated by scholars as well as later translators who refer to histranslation when they retranslate the same source text.Third,it plays a positive role inboosting the morale of Chinese people in their fighting for national liberation duringthe Anti-Japanese war from the late 1930s to early 1940s.Chapter seven examines Ma Junwu's translations from the perspective of Hans Vermeer's skopos theory,manipulation theory proposed by Susan Bassnett and AndreLefevere,and anti-manipulation theory suggested by L(?) Jun and other Chinesetranslation studies scholars so as to give argument in favour of Ma Junwu'stranslations.Chapter Eight,consisting of two sections,is the conclusion.In section one,theauthor concludes from the previous discussions that Ma Junwu should be viewed as anoted translation thinker and practitioner who contributes considerably to theformation of the treasure-house of Chinese translation principles and Chinesetranslation practice.In section two,the author points out the limitations of the currentstudy and the issues for further study.Significance of the current study is alsopresented as follows.First,this study sums up Ma Junwu's translation principles andpractice and assesses their value,which fills a gap in Chinese translation studies in thepast decades.Second,this study is conducive to enriching the treasure-house ofChinese translation theories.Third,this study helps remove some of the erroneousideas about Ma Junwu's translations.Fourth,this study enables us to have a betterunderstanding of Ma Junwu,thus contributing to the study of this noted figure as arevolutionary pioneer,an educator and a translator.Fifth,this study helps cultivate theethical translator who often places the need of the nation before earning money andtakes a correct attitude toward this human activity.