A Study Of Chinese Translation Problems Of Scottish Literature In The Framework Of English Literature

Translation played an indispensable role in the development of modern China, and translation of English literature into China, the most and the earliest of foreign literature at that time, shaped the concept of a whole English literature to the Chinese readers. As a matter of fact, Scottish literature, even since the union of 1707 with England, has always been sticking to its Scottish appeal with distinctive national and aesthetic features from England’s tradition of literature. Their Scottish identities of such world-famous Scottish literary figures as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Lord George Gordon Byron as well as the Scottishness in their works have been neglected or covered in consequence of the suppression of an integrated English literature. What’s worse is that many important Scottish writers have been excluded to English literary canon according to the standards of major English literary circles.The fact that China introduced and translated British literary works and constructed translation history of English literature in accordance with English standards has inevitably resulted in the obscurity and losses of Scottishness in Scottish writers and their works or ignorance of the existence of Scottish literature.The dissertation is aimed to explore the reasons of invisibility of Scottish literature in Chinese translation by reexamination of Chinese translation history of Scottish literature in the framework of English literature since the beginning of last century with the intention to find out why and how Chinese translators, influenced by the concept of a unified English literature constructed by the English literary scholars and critics, failed to reproduce Scottishness in the works of the three eminent writers, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Lord George Gordon Byron. This dissertation reviews both Scottish literary history and Chinese translation history of English literature since the turn of the 20th century, in combination of socio-historical and linguistic factors with literary theories of ethnical identity and literary criticism by a comparative study between their original texts and the Chinese versions.The dissertation is going to point out that a comprehensive understanding of Scottish writers lies in the restoration of the Scottishness in their works or their Scottish identities, and a need for many eminent Scottish literary figures and their works to be introduced and translated into China is helpful for Chinese readers to get a full comprehension of English literature.