Study On Translating Thoughts And Techniques Of Lin Shu's Translation From Uncle Tom's Cabin

Lin Shu(1852～1924), was the well-known litterateur and translator in Wan Qing Period; he was also the first one who introduced western literature to China. Lin Shu created a wonder in Chinese translation history by introducing more than 180 foreign works into China in classical Chinese language, many of which had great impact in his time and influenced many famous modern Chinese writers, while he didn't know any foreign languages at all. Yet, his works are subject to commentaries of inadequacy of translation because traditional views pay more attention to the equivalency between the original texts and translated texts than the translating process. What readers perceive is largely an end product, a result of a decision-making process. Thus, traditional views don't have access to the process of adding, deleting and rewriting , or to the dilemma to be solved by the translator.From novels translated by Lin Shu, we can see, I think, study for translation is rather a systematic study of translator's character, cultural thoughts and problems and solutions occur in TT procedures than the analysis of equivalency between ST and TT. For example, why did Lin Shu choose classical Chinese language? What techniques produce what effects? What aspects had impact on translating process in particular genres of cross-cultural exchange, in particular cultures and in particular historical periods?So the view that underlies this thesis is of translation as a integrated process that the translator expressed the meaning of a foreign language in an appropriate way of his native language according his own comprehension. Hence, the resulting translated text can be seen as evidence of receiver and provider's discussion about meaning, retracing the translator's decision-making—his translating strategy procedures. The translator's decisions are no doubt bound up with the socio-cultural context in which the act of translating takes place. Lin Shu is emulative and pride, deviating from the common customs, but he is also patriotic. Before Xin Hai Revolution, he devoted himself to the renovation of the government and society, which could be seen in his prefaces and postscripts of his translated fictions. After that, due to appointment at the Qin Government, he became depressed, making translation a living method. During the course of May Fourth Movement, he was greatly attacked by the new litterateurs for what he did of stopping the history developing. His translations revealed his thoughts and many mistakes in the translations were bound up with his character and traditional cultural value viewpoint.The thesis develops this theme in four chapters besides Introduction and Conclusion. Introduction sums up some paradoxes relating to Lin Shu's translation, including contradictory commentaries on Lin's translation, his logical and external belief in literal translation vs. his comparatively free translation practice, the conflict between his genteel literary position and his choice of fiction which is looked down upon. As the product-oriented traditional view of translation cannot provide reasonable explanations to the paradoxes, the concepts of cultural interaction, which lay emphasis on broader issues of context, history and convention in translation, are called for to shed light on these paradoxes.Chapter One introduces the fiction translation in the Late Qing Period and all Lin Shu's life . China was in deep crisis at that time, faced with internal political and cultural crisis on one hand and the foreign imperialist powers' invasion on the other. Fiction, with its wide influence, was chosen by quite a number of social reformers as the most suitable vehicle to propagandize their political views and to arouse, educate the Chinese people. Therefore, the newly rising fiction translation in the Late Qing was an easy enterprise, the translators tended to delete, add or rewrite something in their practice in the needs of the current political situation and meaning expression.Chapter Two proceeds the translation thoughts of Lin Shu and methods adopted by Lin Shu from a case study of Lin's version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Through a detailed comparison of Lin Shu's Uncle Tom's Cabin and the original version Uncle Tom's Cabin, we find Lin Shu's Uncle Tom's Cabin is a typical example of cultural interaction .Under the pressure of their own social environment, cultural habits and traditional thoughts moral value viewpoints, the translators deleted and rewrote the religious contents while preserving only a small part. In a word, the translators produced a political novel accessible to Chinese reader in order to meet the political demand and the literary taste of his readers, but at the same time, they made a subversive to the original one, which has both religious and political traces.Chapter Three carries general comments on Lin Shu's translation thoughts and methods, involving his career as a translator in different period of life, his political and cultural ideology, his translations, his translation strategy and his techniques. From the series of evidence found, I will argue that Lin Shu, to great extent, is a serious translator. His translation decisions never deviate from his translation purpose of education the mass, improving the society. Constrained by the socio-cultural forces in the Late Qing period and by his values of Chinese literature, he chose the classical Chinese language and adopted techniques of adding, deleting and rewriting prevailing in his time.Chapter Four makes a commentary on Lin Shu's status in Chinese translation history and contributions to Chinese society and literature. Lin Shu was the earliest translator who brought in western literature and was regarded as the "King of Translation Field". Lin's Shu's translation carried forward the patriotic spirit, inspired the patriotic enthusiasm, propagated western bourgeois democracy and released new concepts. Lin Shu brought new life and artistic concepts and made people aware of the existence of a remarkable western literature comparable to the best Chinese could offer and he helped establish the prestige of fiction in China. Lin Shu broke the traditional Chinese novel form of using chapters and sections and become the avant-courier of colloquialism movement. Last but not the least, Lin shu's translation ushered the vernacular movement of translating foreign literature in modern China and drove our new literature movement.