A Cultural Study On Chinese Translation Of The Detective Stories Of Sherlock Holmes

Although The Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes has been uniquely attractive to a great number of readers since it was born, detective fiction has not been taken seriously nor has it been regarded as "literature" until two decades ago. And the theoretical study of its translation is still far from sufficient in China. This thesis is a combination of descriptive study and case study. It first makes a comprehensive study of the influence of social and cultural factors such as ideology on translated literature. Then it discusses the translators'choice of translating strategies and the influence of social and cultural factors. Through a case study of three Chinese versions of The Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes, the thesis makes an analysis of the cultural aims of ideological manipulation. It proves that these translated works are interfered by the local culture, and vise versus.This thesis consists of three chapters, apart from introduction and conclusion.The introduction part provides background information of the paper, including a brief survey of the academic study on this topic, and the purpose and significance of the present study.The first chapter sets out to review the history of Chinese translation of The Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes. The translation history can be divided into four periods according to different historical background and the selection of the works are interfered by the local culture.The second chapter gives an analysis on the choice of the translators'strategy the readers'appreciation, and a comparative study on the different Chinese versions of The Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes.The third chapter discusses the influence from translated works to the local culture and literary forms. And a case study on Cheng Xiaoqing's creation of his own detective stories about Huo Sang is taken to show the mutual influence.The Epilogue discusses the theoretical significance and the practice value as well as the deficiencies in this research.