The Invisible Hands Behind Translator

Early modern China (1840-1919) witnessed the translation climax of foreign literature. Among all the important translators, Lin Shu must be mentioned, who, together with Wang Shouchang, translated Lα Dame aux camellias in the late 19th century. This translation was a real breakthrough in the contemptuous attitudes traditionally held by the Chinese towards the Western culture and moreover a milestone in the modern Chinese literature. However important it may be, the translated work was and still is not regarded by some critics as a real translation in the true sense of the word. One of the main reasons is that Lin Shu and Wang Shouchang resorted to such techniques as addition, omission so that there existed a strong personal stamp in it.But the author holds the opinion that Chahua nu, to a large extent, owed its popularity to Lin Shu's skill with words as well as the translators' manipulation of the ST. Only in this way —rewriting of the original—could the translated work be widely accepted and even regarded as one of the best readings in the late Qing. Actually, the reason why Lin Shu and Wang Shouchang intentionally rewrote Dumas' work on some occasions was that they just tried to introduce a foreign story in a familiar literary form, by which part of western culture (such as customs and ideology) could gain easier access to the Chinese readers. In this sense, those two translators are not so careless and arbitrary as some critics have accused of; their translation style mentioned above is probably more acceptable and appropriate when the context in the late Qing dynasty is taken into consideration seriously. Then could an "adequate translation" occur or even prevail in the late 19th century? How did the non-linguistic determinants (NDT) played an important part in...