A Study Of Translation Of Modern Chinese Fictions In The English World(1940-1949)

It was a special historical period in the 1930 s and 1940 s.In China,of political field,helpless wartime China was in urgent need of international assistance;whereas of literary field,modern Chinese fictions needed to be translated into the English world to consolidate its status in the Chinese literary field.This urgent need was reflected in translation field: Chinese intellectuals appealed to translate modern Chinese fictions into the English world,both for the sake of political interests and for Chinese culture.It was a historical coincidence that,due to the world war and the cold war following that,Britain and America held an unprecedented enthusiasm towards China.This was reflected in translation.Therefore,promoting Chinese literature abroad in the 1940 s was a historical opportunity.Groups of Chinese translators missed no opportunity in translating modern Chinese fictions into English world and started an honor-seeking journey.The products of this journey are the present research objects,namely,the 13 kinds of translations published by English publishers in the1940 s.Going back to the 1940 s,adopting a descriptive and exploratory model,we aim to do a comprehensive and systematic research.Taking as starting points the key sociological concepts brought up by Pierre Bourdieu and developed by other western theorists,namely,field,habitus and capital,and using quantitative and qualitative,literature analysis,case study,categorization and comparative methods,the present research takes an explorative tour of the material and symbolic production of the cultural products,aimimg to answer how groups of agents appropriated prestige-endowing patterns of behavior to gain symbolic capital in the then-international competitive filed,and whether or not they changed the forces of the field.The present research focuses on Chinese translators' behaviors,with an aim to shed light on promoting Chinese literature abroad.The present thesis consists of the following four parts: firstly,it starts by constructing the international cultural field,namely,the English translation field.This was the locus where all agents competed with their habitus and capital.Secondly,after making a categorization and classification of translators and their translation products,we attempt to answer how translators' generalized/personal habitus and original works' capital influenced translators' text selections.It is found that,to win international support and gain symbolic capital for the nation,they collectively chose to translate revolutionary and war fictions.It reveals that,groups of Chinese translators acquired generalized habitus in the field,and this generalized habitus was mainly constructed by the political power field.However,Wang Chi-Chen and Lianda translators chose to translate critical fictions and fictions with strong local elements,respectively.This was mainly influenced by their personal habitus.In addition,all translators took authors' capital into consideration.This was in accordance with translations from periphery to center,and it facilitated the capital transfer in the field.Thirdly,the research focuses on translators' strategy to probe how field and translator's habitus influenced translation behaviors in this process.It is shown that various agents(publishers,the reading public,literary editors,original authors andthe position of the field)wielded an influence upon translators' behaviors in one way or another and reflecting on their translation strategies,namely,“deletion”,“reducing”and “adjusting”.As competing agents in the field,translators also acquired some other field habitus to gain symbolic capital,namely,to “introduce” modern Chinese fictions in paratexts,and to construct new Chinese image through “deletion and simplification”.In addition,individual translators also appropriated some unique prestige-endowing strategies influenced by his own unique habitus.Hsiao Qian and Yeh Chun-chan exposed the Japanese aggression through “addition and modification”.Wang Chi-chen chose to be true to the fictions' spiritual quality of revolt,whereas Lianda translators retained the fictions' local colors.Lastly,after a thorough collection of book reviews and an investigation of republications and reprints,we take an in-depth research on translations' reception.It is found that,on the whole,most of translated Chinese fictions were smoothly accepted.English critics had various views and readings of them.Some translations even went to classroom,and others got reprints repeatedly.It proved to be a smooth symbolic production.However,the text selections made by Lianda translators failed to meet the target field's expectations,and together with their lack of cultural and symbolic capital,their products were ignored then.To expound how field and habitus influences the reception,we take“Autobiography of a Chinese Girl: a Genuine Autobiography” as a case study to reveal how field and agents' capital played a key role in the symbolic production process.We have three major findings and conclusions:Firstly,the material and symbolic production of the translated products was the result of all the agents getting influenced in the international cultural field.Taking modern Chinese fictions as symbolic goods,Chinese translators appropriated various prestige-endowing patterns of behavior to gain symbolic capital in the field.Field,translator's(generalized and personal)habitus and capital,a networking of agents had in one way or another influenced translators' honor-seeking behaviors.Secondly,groups of agents missed no opportunity to compete in the cultural field to gain a favorable position.In the end,the British and American cultural field had some changes.Through text selections and various translation strategies,translators helped create a positive Chinese image and gain some symbolic capital for the nation.Some modern Chinese authors and fictions obtained a prestigious position in the field.This also helped heighten their status in Chinese literary field.What's more,some agents(translators,publishers)gained some symbolic capital for themselves.Thirdly,the reception of translated Chinese fictions was highly contingent on the political ties between two nations.Text selection and agents' capital played a pivotal role in the symbolic production.This reminds us that it's crucial to take the target field's reading needs into consideration in text selection process.Text selection should be taken priority over all others.In addition,prestigious publishers are priority options to publish translated works,and prefaces by authoritative English sinologists and critics may help increase the attention translators receive.