Research On The Dissemination And Reception Of Hong Lou Meng In The English World ——A Paratextual Perspective

Hong Lou Meng(The Story of the Stone,The Dream of the Red Chamber,or A Dream of Red Mansions),one of the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature,has been translated into more than thirty languages in over one hundred and fifty translation versions worldwide.With the continuous emergence of new translations and republished ones,coupled with the diversified dissemination approaches,this novel is not only subject to the research field of sinologists and experts,but also to a broader group of ordinary readers in the English world.However,most of the previous studies have focused on the analysis of translated texts,and paid less attention to the dissemination and readers'reception of Hong Lou Meng in the target culture.The previous research perspectives and methodologies are relatively limited to some extent.It is known that paratexts perform an important mediator between the original text and the target readership,in a purpose of familiarizing readers with the content of the novel.Compared to the original work,paratexts play a more important mediating role in the translated literature.This study attempts to explore the dissemination and readers'reception of Hong Lou Meng in the English world from the 19^thcentury to the 21^stcentury by using a paratextual analysis method combined in the framework of paratextual theory and sociological theory.It mainly responds to the following three questions:First,through the analysis of peritexts(cover,preface,etc.)of the English translation of Hong Lou Meng,what kind of images does the translation product present to the target readership in different translation history periods?Second,through the analysis of epitexts(reports,reviews,etc.)of the English translation of Hong Lou Meng,how do western readers perceive this novel in different periods of its English translation history?Third,how do human actors(translators,publishers,editors,etc.)acquire capital in the literary field and construct a translation network in the translation and dissemination process of Hong Lou Meng,and what role do non-human actors(social environment,national policy,etc.)play in this process?This study selects peritextual materials from eight original English versions and two republished ones as research objects,and adopts paratextual theory and visual methodology to analyze the images that Hong Lou Meng translation products present.Then it synthesizes reports from British newspapers,reviews from Amazon online bookshop and Trip Advisor travel website as epitextual materials to explore the ordinary readers'reception and recognition of this novel.Finally,it takes verbal peritextual materials such as preface and epitextual materials such as translator's autobiography,interviews,lectures as research objects,and uses theoretical concepts involved with sociology of translation to explain how human actors acquire capital and construct the cooperate network in the literary field,and how non-human actors make an influence in the translation and dissemination process.This study yields the following findings:First,there are few peritextual materials of Hong Lou Meng translation product before the 20^thcentury.It only served as language learning materials for diplomats and missionaries who worked in China instead of promoting it into the English world.From the early to the mid 20^thcentury,the abridged versions highlighted the love story between Baoyu and Daiyu,and attracted readers by using exoticism with obvious orientalism and cultural stereotype.Different from the unattractive and ideological peritextual materials of Yang's translation,Hawkes'version is exquisitely designed and more serious,making it an encyclopedic classic of Chinese traditional culture in the late 20^thcentury.The peritextual materials of new and republished versions of Hong Lou Meng that appeared after the 21^stcentury are endowed with Chinese features.Most of them are promoted to the West in the form of a series of Chinese classics translations or Library of Chinese Classics,gradually forming a commercialization trend in the book market.Second,the epitextual materials show that ordinary readers'attitude towards Hong Lou Meng in the English world is basically the same as the image presented by translation products during the 19^thto the mid 20^thcentury.By the late 20^thcentury,negative comments with political interpretations are found among these readers.In recent time,more educated people gain insights into Chinese society and Chinese culture by reading the translated work of Hong Lou Meng with unabridged versions and rich paratexts.In addition to its literary values,modern readers also pay attention to aspects such as architecture,garden,customs,interpersonal relations,and human resource from the classic.Third,the close cooperation and rich capital obtained by human actors such as well-known translators and allographic writers,larger western book publishers,non-human actors such as the extensive publicity and good social context are the key factors to the commercial success for Hong Lou Meng translation products from the early to the mid 20^thcentury.Despite the complete content and fluent expression for the translation products in the late 20^thcentury,the dissemination and reception of this novel is not optimistic due to the political and economic environment in China and abroad.Thanks to China's increasing development and the Chinese culture“going out”strategy,Hong Lou Meng is presenting a new image in the English world in the 21^stcentury.The commercialization of the western book market and the diversified dissemination approaches of Redology have prompted more readers to return to the classics,to learn Chinese language and to gain a comprehensive understanding of Chinese culture.This study is based on a paratextual analysis instead of the text analyzed by previous studies,and is combined with sociological theory and artistic methods,which promotes the development of descriptive translation in methodology.It also offers theoretical basis and new paradigms for the translation and dissemination of Chinese literature,and provides new insights into interdisciplinary research in the field of translation.In terms of research content,this study pays attention to visual elements in translation products,supplementing the previous studies that have ignored non-verbal peritextual materials.It fills the gap by analyzing reports and reviews from ordinary readers in the English world so as to explore readers'reception in the target culture.