A Study Of The Translation Of Children's Literature In China After 1919-From The Perspective Of Polysystem Theory

Children's literature functions as an indispensable subcategory in the mainstream culture, which is demonstrated by children's literature that is based on the unique experience and feeling of children. However, the study of translation of children's literature in China has not drawn widespread attention, and few researches on this theme have been done. The author of the thesis adopts the perspective of polysystem theory and gives a descriptive analysis of the history of the translation of children's literature of foreign countries in China after 1919.The translation of children's literature of foreign countries is divided into three stages. The first stage starts from 1919, when the May Fourth movement was lauched, to 1949, the year when the People's Republic of China was founded. The second stage is from 1950 to 1978, when China began the reform and opening-up policy. And the third covers what is between 1979 to the present (2009). Based on the polysystem theory, the author analyzes the social and cultural background, the prevalent ideology and other dominating factors in the process of translation during the respective periods of modern Chinese history, and then summarizes the characteristics and the influences of the translation of children's literature in each stage.During the first stage (1919-1949), various thougts came into China, and Chinese people turned to learn Western's advanced sciences and technologies and humanities in order to save and prosper China. Translated literature works developed and flourished under these circumstances. For Chinese literary system faced crisis and Chinese people hoped to enlighten the next generation, translated children's literature underwent the process of moving from peripheral to center.During the second stage (1949-1978), children's literature translations were highly ideologized, instrumentalized and were reduced to the tools for political education. Though translated children's literature took up the central position in the literary polysystem at the beginning but it did not last long.During the third stage (1978-2009), the translation and introduction of children's literature is diversified, systematized and serialized. Issues of children have been stressed and children orientated literary characteristic is gradually formed. The translated children's literature can not be neglected and will continue to boom and exerts extensive influence on Chinese readers and writers in the future.The research of the history and the translation process of children's literature provide a wider scope and more insightful ideas for understanding and analyzing the underlying factors that decide on literary translation. It is an important but easily overlooked area of study, but will prove to be a worthwhile practice of and consolidation to polysystem theory, under the guide of which the whole study in the thesis is conducted.