A Study Of The Boom Of Science-fiction Translation In China In The 1980s

Science fiction(SF) is a branch of literature, which helps to cultivate readers'interest in science and inspires people to think more about social reality and the future of humanity. As one of the earliest imported fiction genres, science fiction has played a vital role in the modernization of Chinese literature. The translation of science fiction not only gave birth to the new genre of SF in China, but also played a leading role in the development of this genre. The 1980s is the golden age of Chinese science fiction, during which SF translation also thrived. On the basis of the previous study, this thesis combines the translation history and science fiction, and presents a historical survey of SF translation boom in the 1980s to disclose the causes of the boom. Efforts are also made in looking into the influence of SF translation during the defined period. On the whole, SF translation is an under-researched area in literary translation studies. This thesis serves to draw more people's attention to the importance of periphery literature like science fiction in translation studies, and to enrich the domestic study of literary translation history.This thesis is composed of six sections. The first section is introduction, offering the necessary background about science fiction, significance of this research, research methods and layout of this thesis.The second section is literature review, providing the previous research on SF translation both at home and abroad.The third section provides the theoretical basis of the present research, which involves Pym's methods in studying translation history, multiple causation theory and the polysystem theory.As the main part of this thesis, section four makes an in-depth exploration into the boom of SF translation in the 1980s. A general survey of SF translation in this period is made to present an overall picture. Since the upsurge of SF translation in the early 1980s shares some similarities with the first wave of SF translation in Chinese history, a comparative analysis is made diachronically on the basis of the polysystem theory. Besides, a synchronical research into the causes of the boom is conducted, covering the material cause, the efficient cause, the formal cause and the final cause advocated by Pym. Moreover, case studies are provided in this part to assess SF translation in the defined period in terms of the three basic features of science fiction, namely, the literary aspect, the scientific aspect and the popular aspect.Section five gives an account of the impact of SF translation in the 1980s.The last section is to draw a conclusion, making a brief review and summery of the whole thesis, followed by contributions of this thesis, problems unsolved, and suggestions for further research.Through these discussions, we can see that multiple causes led to the boom of SF translation in the 1980s. SF translation during this period was of great significance for cultivating people's scientific awareness, as well as for SF translation and creation in China.