The Acceptance Of Thackeray's Works In China In The 20^th Century

The traditional translation studies are source-oriented which pay special attention to comparing source texts with target texts and regard faithfulness as the major criterion.However, since the 1970s of the last century, translation studies have witnessed an important event which was called "cultural turn". Translation researchers have broken the barriers of linguistic approach and begun to show great interests in cultural studies, with an aim to explore and reveal the underlying factors that may exert influences on translation. Critical linguists consider that all language uses imply ideological motives. Therefore, translation, as an important form of language use, is inevitably motivated by ideological factors. Though many researchers realized the role that ideology may play in the process of translation long ago, the systematic study of the role of ideological manipulation in translation really began in the 1980s. Some researchers have begun to examine the relationship between power and ideology and their relationship with translation. One of the most influential figures among them is the Belgian scholar---Andre Lefevere, who introduced an important concept ---"rewriting" to translation theory.With Andre Lefevere's rewriting theory as the framework, the thesis analyses the translation history of Thackeray's works at each stage of 20th century in China to see whether and how the external factors make an influence on the translators'activities.In addition to examining the external factors'influences, the thesis also examines translators'acceptance of the dominant translation trend at their times, proving that the choice of translators'strategy is the result of the coordination between translators'subjectivity and social regulation and limitation. The conclusion develops Lefevere's rewriting theory, meaning that translators become competent mediators in cultural exchanges instead of being "puppets" manipulated by external environment.