On Zhang Peiji's Prose Translation Style

Prof. Zhang Peiji, a prestigious translator in china, has contributed significantly to the course of translation. Reviewing his fifty years'practices, we find that most of his translation works are prose writings, the quality of which has been widely acclaimed. However, since there are few studies conducted on Chinese translators, much less on prose translations, this thesis aims at carrying out a tentative study about this master's translation styles of prose which may be beneficial for translators later on.The study of a particular translator's style is no easy task. Firstly the definition of style is vague and controversial; and secondly style, according to some researchers, is something intangible just like art which can only be felt by heart. Any efforts to depict distinctively the style of a translator will end up in vain. The author of this paper, however, thinks it otherwise, holding the belief that style can be studied scientifically and therefore introducing the theory of markedness. The target of this thesis is to unveil the stylistic features of Prof. Zhang Peiji in a multi-dimensional way and reach a meaningful and constructive conclusion.The whole thesis could be divided into 4 chapters. Chapter one provides a brief introduction about Prof. Zhang's life stories, major works and general translation styles as useful background information. In chapter two, the author researches the definition of prose, the distinctive features of modern Chinese prose writings as well as the translatability of them. In chapter three, the author carries out a comprehensive study of markedness theory including its origins, several aspects, elementary studies around it and so on. Chapter four, the last chapter, serves as the essential part of this thesis. It conducts a systemic analysis of Prof. Zhang Peiji's prose translations based on markedness theory.In conclusion, a tentative study is made about the master's translation practice and further more some deeper exploration about the markedness theory is also carried out. In the end, the author calls for a joint effort for the prosperity of the course of translation in the future.