On Macroscopic Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies Adopted In Sun Haichen’s Translation Of The Last Eunuch In China

In2008, Sun Haichen translated Modai Taijian Miwen, a popular biography of SunYaoting written by Jia Yinghua, into English titled The Last Eunuch in China, which was animmediate great success in the English world. As translators with the responsibility ofintroducing the fine Chinese culture into the West, we have something to learn from SunYaoting’s success in translation.This thesis defines the term of Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies at themacroscopic level. Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies have, in fact, all along beenused in translation practice. Free translation and domesticating translation, for instance, arejust such methods or strategies frequently used by the translators with target readers’ languagecompetence, cultural background, aesthetic taste, or aesthetic value in mind.Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies at the macroscopic level have been adoptedsuccessfully by such translators as Yan Fu, Lin Shu and Fu Donghua. However, if examined atthe macroscopic level, the researches are still not enough. Though scholars have made furtherdiscussions on domestication phenomena, most of them criticized them with a negativeattitude, regarding themselves as representatives of weak culture. The thesis has found that thesuccess of Sun Haichen’s translation lies in his adoption of Target-Reader-OrientedTranslation Strategies, rewriting the source text boldly instead of rendering it at microscopiclevel.By comparing the translated versions of Sun Haichen and Jia Yinghua, it is found thatthey have mainly adopted four types of Target-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies: addingand omitting of contents, restructuring forms, changing narrative style, and transferringnarrative emotions. With these strategies the translators have produced a translated work thatcan be accepted and favored by target readers. In this way, the purpose of spreading Chineseculture has been realized.Lastly, the author analyzed the feasibility and application scope limitation of those macrotranslation strategies from the perspective of macro historical context and micro text type.First, those macro translation strategies are quiet expedient since Chinese culture, as a weakculture, tries to reach out to the world and get accepted joyfully by western readers in thebackdrop of globalization. Second, those macro translation strategies are unlikely to beapplicable to the translation of all text types, for example, they should be considered lesswhen it comes to the translation of Chinese classics. Third, those macro translation strategieswould not be the only feasible strategy even under the circumstance of translating the same text type. Under the background of Chinese culture being introduced to and accepted by thewest, translators should integrate varieties of translation strategies in their translation. ThoughTarget-Reader-Oriented Translation Strategies would make changes in the contents, forms,narrative style and emotions, there is no doubt that they are effective translation strategies.This has been proved in translation practice conducted by famous translators like Yan Fu, LinShu and Fu Donghua, and now Sun’s translation of The Last Eunuch in China proves to beanother fine example.