| This research,with the theme of the Generation of 1898 in China in the first half of the 20th century,aims to explore and study the translation and reception of the Generation of 1898 literature in modern China.The Generation of 1898,an important literary group in modern Spanish history,has its name originated from the Spanish-American War in 1898 when Spain,the loser,had to cede its last overseas colony and suffer the unprecedented decline with both national economic and spiritual crises.In such a context,a group of young Spanish writers and intellectuals,while incisively blasting social and political blight in the country and faithfully depicting the ill and lagging-behind society,embraced western thoughts and devoutly studied the immortal spirit in their literary classics echoing with modern era.They listened to the voices of ordinary workers and craftsmen who were not heard and wrote about the "overlooked history" of ordinary people.They eulogized their invaluable traditions,long-standing national spirits and beloved motherland represented by Castilla.The works of the Generation of 1898,as the highlights in Spanish literary history,are thoughtful and literary,known as the "Renaissance" in the modern history of Spain.In the first half of the 20th century,members of Literature Research Society represented by Shen Yanbing,Zhou Zuoren,Li Qingya,Xu Xiacun,Zhao Jingshen,Zheng Zhenduo,together with forty-some writers and scholars represented by Lu Xun,Dai Wangshu,Bian Zhilin and Shi Zhecun,were involved in Chinese translation of the literature of the Generation of 1898.Their translated works and research outcomes have enriched the essence of new Chinese literature,exerting profound influence.Young Chinese writers found themselves resonated with the Generation of 1898 and appreciative of their literary works.The translation and reception of the Generation of 1898 literature are both an important chapter in the history of Sino-Western literature exchanges and an indispensable part to the study on the history of foreign literature translation.It is thus necessary to systemically explore and study the translation,commentaries,dissemination and reception of the Generation of 1898 literature in China based on medio-translatology.Such description of the spreading of the Generation of 1898 literature in China,while unveiling the relations between translation and cultural context during Sino-Western literature exchanges,analyzes Chinese writers’ and translators’ concealment and non-concealment of the Generation of 1898 literature in an effort to elucidate the way the Generation of 1898 enriched the forms and connotations of Chinese literary creations and promoted the development of new Chinese literature.In addition to Introduction and Conclusion,the research consists of the following six parts:Chapter One,with the definition of its members and a brief introduction to the representatives’ biographies and literary creations,considers the socio-historical background under which the Generation of 1898 was formed,its social reform philosophies and the features of its literary innovation based on the analysis of relevant Chinese and foreign literature.Chapter Two presents a holistic study on the translation in the cultural context.By analyzing the relations between the Generation of 1898 literary translation and the then new direction of foreign literary translation in China,the author,with statistics displayed,aims to clarify the landscape and trends of the Generation of 1898 literary translation as well as translators’ way of selecting the literary works in line with their translation competence and the needs to develop Chinese literature.With an eye on the participation of Literature Research Society in the Generation of 1898 literary translation and its influence,this chapter also analyzes the reasons and effects of "relay translation" based on the translated texts in the third language as well as the process and influence of Dai Wangshu’s direct translation from the original texts.Chapter Three conducts a case study on the translation and reception of the literary works by Vicente Blasco Ibá(?)ez,a Spanish realist writer.The first section,also an overview of Chinese translation of his works,analyzes why and how Hu Yuzhi,Zhou Zuoren,Dai Wangshu and Li Qingya translated Ibá(?)ez’s works and its ensuing influence in a bid to interpret how the translation of Ibdá(?)ez’s works was influenced by realistic literature and writing techniques,anti-war literature and movies,and the democratic and republican thoughts of the Generation of 1898.The second section,based on the commentaries of Shen Yanbing and Sun Chunting,presents the fact that the translation of Ibanez’s works boosted the development of Chinese realist literature in that it provided literary theoretical basis,paradigms,writing techniques and experience to refer to,which meets the need of the growth of new Chinese literature.Ibanez,with his democratic,progressive and anti-war spirits,pursued social progress by inspiring people to draw strength from anti-war literature to resist invasion and oppression.Chapter Four consists of a case study on the translation and reception of the literary works by Pio Baroja,a writer from a small and weak nation.The first section centers on Lu Xun’s translation of Baroja’s works by probing into Lu Xun’s translation methods,its influence and the connections between Lu Xun’s selection of Baroja’s works and the viewpoints on the translation of small and weak nations’ literature.The second section studies how Lu Xun,Shen Yanbing and other writers,while dissolving Baroja’s pessimism and highlighting his optimistic views for new Chinese literature,interpreted Baroja’s works from the perspective of nationality,the viewpoints of "free novel",traditional literary criticism,characterization,and the advancement of modernization with modern thought.Chapter Five is a case study on the translation and reception of the literary works by Azorin,a poetic essayist.The first section focuses on the translation of Azorin’s works by Xu Xiacun,Dai Wangshu and Bian Zhilin by analyzing the translation methods,its influence and how the translation was involved with the factors such as "economic translation" initiative,prose novels,pithy writing style,lyricism and translators’ empathy.The second section digs into the commentaries of Xu Xiacun and others on the stylistic features of Azorin’s prose,such as the structure of the novel,the dilution of plot and the precise word choices.The author is to discuss Azorin’s influence on Chinese writers in the first half of the 20th century by exemplifying the borrowing of Wang Zengqi from Azorin’s prose novels and the influence of Azorin’s writing style on Dai Wangshu’s travelogues.Chapter Six discusses the significance of the Generation of 1898 on new Chinese literature.The first section analyzes how the translation of the Generation of 1898 literature partially shaped Spanish literature’s identity of "small and weak nation’s literature".The second section is the analysis of the way the translation of the Generation of 1898 literature supported the New Culture Movement with its western thoughts and literary writing techniques of both realism and modernism.The Chinese translation of the literature of the Generation of 1898 thrived as new Chinese literature emerged.Most of the translators were writers,also the participants and promoters in developing the new Chinese literature.During the cause of the translation,the patriotism,reform philosophies,literary aesthetics and writing techniques from the Generation of 1898 exerted a subtle but important influence on Chinese translators,thus enriching the connotation of modern Chinese literature.Based on the examination of the literary translation history,this research presents the facts and influence of literary exchanges and at the same time seeks to reveal why the Generation of 1898 attracted Chinese writers and scholars,how cultural contexts,ideologies and poetic factors impacted the translation and reception of the Generation of 1898 literature as well as the role it played in the germination and growth of new Chinese literature. |
