Rewriting In The Chinese Version Of Living History--From The Perspective Of Ideology And Patronage

As we all know, translation plays a significant role not only in the communication of different people from different nations, but also in the development of a nation's politics, culture and society. However, for a long time, the studies of translation was confined to the linguistic approach. In the past, scholars attached great importance to the source text, considering it positive and authoritative. Translation, however, was regarded derivative and servile.In the 1980s, the appearance of"cultural turn"was a satisfying change. It drew attention to the issues that are beyond equivalence and fidelity, namely history, culture, ideology and poetics and the like. Among all the introduced theories at that time, Lefevere's theory of rewritings was a prominent one. It focused more on the differences between source and target texts as well as issues such as culture and ideology. It helped translation researchers expand their horizons from the linguistic level to a wider social context.Enlightened by Lefevere's theory of rewritings, the author of this thesis tries to analyze the traces of rewriting in the Chinese version of Living History from the angle of ideology and patronage. The present thesis begins with the presentation of theoretical framework of the whole text, including the rising, development, factors and significance of Lefevere's theory of rewritings. Among the factors that give rise to rewriting, the thesis conducts a detailed discussion on patronage and ideology. Moreover, the thesis elaborates the significance of discussing traces of rewriting from the perspective of ideology. Then the thesis conducts a case study of the influence of patronage and ideology on the translation of Living History, i.e. the selection of materials, censorship of materials and translation strategies. In the study of translation strategies, omission and shifting are closely examined.From the research, it can be concluded that the traces of rewriting in the Chinese version of Living History are by no means accidental. The translator, who plays an importance role in rewriting, lives in a certain society or culture. Therefore he is bound to be influenced by a certain society or culture. During the process of translating, the translator can choose to accept or reject certain ideologies. Rewriting, however, can not escape the impact of the ideology of a certain society.