A Study On English Translations Of Xi Xiangji

“ Of all new comedies,and old musical plays,Xi Xiangji takes first place all over the world.” Said by Jia Zhongming,a playwright in early fifteenth century.There is no doubt that Xi Xiangji is one of the most representative works of Chinese Xiqu classics.Since its birth,Xi Xiangji has not only attracted the attention of numerous researchers,but also arouses the interests of translators and Sinologists from all over the world.Xi Xiangji has made remarkable achievements in the English-speaking world.Since the end of the 19 th century,it has been translated and published by more than a dozen translators in the form of full translation,adapted translation,English script,etc.Also,there are many scholars who conducted studies on it and have written dissertations and journal papers,showing the wide acceptance and strong spreading trend of Xi Xiangji overseas.This dissertation mainly uses the Medio-Translatology Theory,the Descriptive Research and Interdisciplinary method to make a comprehensive and systematic study of the translation of Xi Xiangji in the English-speaking world.The object of study covers the whole process of Xi Xiangji’s English translation and other related factors,such as social and cultural context of its translation,the translator’s identity,translation purpose and translation thoughts,etc.From the macro and micro perspectives,it makes a comprehensive study on the topic of English translation of Xi Xiangji.In Chapter I,the dissertation analyzes the historical and cultural context of the prosperity of Zaju in Yuan dynasty and the influence of Wang Shifu on the creation of Xi Xiangji,mainly from the perspectives of China’s geographical environment and cultural soil,urban development,and the situations of the literati.It also introduces the Xi Xiang story and editions of Xi Xiangji,and points out that its English translations are mainly based on two versions: the Jin Shengtan’s commented version and the Hongzhi version.In Chapter II,the research concludes the Xi Xiangji’s translated and spreading process diachronically Then it puts forward the conclusion that Xi Xiangji has been classicalized in the English-speaking world,and analyzes its classicalization process from the perspectives of professionals and sponsors,such as translators,researchers,publishing houses and higher education institutions.Chapter III makes a comprehensive analysis of the text and para-text of the seven major English translations.Based on the translators’ educational background and work experience,it discusses the translator’s main translation thoughts or purposes.And it analyzes the features of each translation in language and style.Due to the large amount of para-text content and information in some translations,it also carries out additional discussion and analysis.In Chapter IV,as the most basic and important unit in the cultural communication,it makes a detailed micro study on the culture-loaded words.The culture-loaded words in the original text were divided into five categories: language culture,social culture,religious culture,material culture and ecological culture.A large number of examples were selected in each category,and it was concluded that translators in different periods and countries often showed great differences in the choice of translation strategies.Finally,the dissertation discusses some important issues around the translations and spreading of Chinese Xiqu classics.