Context·Translator·Translation

Based on relevant theories of Translation Studies, this paper is an investigation of translation and reception of Oscar Wilde’s works in China before1949. Macro-perspective and case study will be both employed to analyze the socio-historical context, under which certain translation activities were conducted, and translation strategies of specific translators, whose life experiences, literary aspirations and personal reaction to socio-historical context were having crucial influence on the final appearances of their translated texts.There will be altogether six chapters with Introduction and Conclusion in the first and last one. Chapter Two will deal with the general process of translation and reception of Wilde’s works in modern China from1909to1949, coming to two tendencies of translation activities during these four decades—one is to explore valuable social significance of Wilde’s works, represented by translators such as Zhou Zuoren, Ba Jin, Tian Han and Hong Shen, while the other is concentrating on the reconstruction of artistic effects of Wilde’s original texts. Du Heng, Zhang Wang and Zeng Xubai’s translation activities are examples of the latter. Centering on these two tendencies, the following three chapters will be further investigations into each tendency through close reading and text analysis. Finally, features concerning the translation and reception of Wilde’s works in modern China will be listed, and the interaction of socio-historical context, translators, and translated texts will also be concluded in the last chapter.