A Study On Zhang Peiji’s Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence

China boasts a long history of prose writings, and there are a large number of great prose works. However, compared with other literary genres, the research on essay translation by translators and scholars is not thorough enough, and has long been lagging behind for many years. As a distinguished translator in China, Zhang Peiji has spared no effort in translation career for over fifty years, having made great contribution to the development of the translation cause, especially to the Chinese modern prose translation. His works related to translation theory and practice have exerted great influence over the translation field. Among his books, the three volumes of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings deserve to be mentioned. Since the publication, the series have been very popular among English learners and scholars, because of the good reference and guiding they provide for the translation of modern Chinese essays, thus are worth our further research.As the core of Eugene A. Nida’s translation theory, functional equivalence theory was one of the translation theories, which were introduced in China at an early time. It has profound influence on the translation studies in China. Based on the equivalence of meaning and style, functional equivalence theory emphasizes that the readers of the target language should have substantially the same response as the source language readers do. Compared with other translation theories, this theory provides a criterion for translation from a new perspective, namely, the criterion of receptor’s response. In Nida’s view, an ideal translation is the closet natural equivalent of the source language message.The thesis gives a detailed research on Zhang Peiji’s Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings from the perspective of Nida’s functional equivalence in terms of meaning, style and culture. In terms of meaning, the thesis analyzes whether Zhang’s translation reproduces the original meaning on the aspects of the referential meaning and connotative meaning. In terms of style, the author explores whether Zhang’s translation represent the original style on the aspects of the vividness of the language, aesthetic representation, and rhetorical devices. In terms of culture, the thesis discusses whether the translation can be accepted by the target language readers on the aspects of the culture-specific items and idioms. According to the research, it can be concluded that Zhang Peiji’s Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings have achieved the functional equivalence as much as possible, creating a similar receptor’s response for the foreign readers. At the same time, it reflects the feasibility and the value of functional equivalence in translation practice of essays. It is hoped that the thesis will be helpful for the research on both functional equivalence and the translation of Chinese essays.