A Study Of Translator Behaviour Seen From Eilenn Chang’s Self-Translated Work Jin Suo Ji

Traditionally, translation studies concentrated on the study of linguistic and textual analysis. However, after the1970s, translation studies went beyond language and focused on the interaction between translation and the extra linguistic factors out of translation. Translation critics do no longer consider the fidelity as high evaluation for translation. They begin to reconsider the relations between authors, the source-text and translators, the target-text."Truth-seeking—Utility-attaining" continuum model of evaluation constructed by Professor Zhou Lingshun is the effective attempt under this circumstance. The analysis is made under the guidance of this continuum model of evaluation. A translator’s task is to transfer messages between two different languages. The activity of "truth-seeking" in the source text is the nature of being a translator. Meanwhile, as a translator, the extra textual factors have to be taken into consideration, because the extra textual factors are more or less producing effects on the translator behaviour. Translators make adjustments and changes of the original text while translating. Therefore,"author/the source text" and "reader/the target text" may be the factors influencing the translator’s behaviour."Truth-seeking" and "Utility-attaining" can be the two ends of a continuum which manifests the gradual changes of a translator. Therefore, the continuum gives us two different angles to investigate the translators’behaviour.Self-translation is a special kind of translation. The author undertakes the task of translating by himself. With the development of China, although some self-translators appeared, such as LinYutang, Eileen Chang, Xiao Qian, Bian Zhilin, Bai Xianyong, Yu Guangzhong, Ye Weilian and so on, there are little researches discussing the topic on self-translation. It is not until the20th century that many scholars begin to study on self-translation. Among them, Eileen Chang’s self-translating activities have attracted many critics’interests. First published in the magazine Wangxiang(万象)in1942, Jin Suo Ji is Chang’s masterpiece. Then, she self-translated the Chinese version into the English version The Pink Tears, but it was refused by the publisher from American publishing company in1956. Then, in the following year, she made some changes based on The Pink Tears and named it The Rouge of the North. It was published by the Cassell Company of London in1967. Similarly at the following year, when Chang was working on The Rough of the North, she derived its counterpart, entitled Yuan Nu(怨女). Then Yuan Nu had been serialized for a year in literary media in Hong Kong and Taiwan in which was received the warm welcome. In1971, under the invitation of C.T. Hsia, she literally self-translated Jin Suo Ji into English again under the title The Golden Cangue which was collected in the Twentieth-Century Chinese Stories edited by H.C. Hsia. Chang enjoyed a reputation of being able to rewrite and translate her Chinese works into English, but no other translingual practice engaged her so much as Jin Suo Ji. Thus, over a span of twenty four years, in two languages, Chang wrote this story four times. This activity in history of self-translation is rare. Due to The Golden Cangue is literally translated from the Chinese Version Jin Suo Ji, the thesis will take this English version equally to the Chinese Version. Therefore, case study in the thesis will be based on the comparison between The Golden Cangue and The Rouge of the North. Based on the comprehensive comparison, we can easily capture the translator’s behaviour in the process of text analyzing. Then finally the thesis conclude that a self-translator such as Eileen Chang is like a bat, which looks like a mouse but definitely not a mouse or looks like a bird but not a bird. Self-translators can not be called translator or the writer. They have more liberty because the works being translated are written by themselves, so they can be free from the restriction of the standard norms of translation which are imposed on the ordinary translator. Therefore, the translation studies can not ignore the self-translation which is an objective fact really existing in the world. The thesis is divided into four chapters:Chapter One is the brief introduction to the development of self-translation at home and abroad, the brief illustrations of Eileen Chang and the researches on her self-translation at home and abroad.Chapter Two elaborates the theoretical framework of this study, which is the "Truth-seeking—Utility-attaining" continuum model of evaluation constructed by Professor Zhou Lingshun.Chapter Three is a case study on two different English versions deprived from Jin Suo Ji. Through the comprehensive description between these two texts, the self-translator’s behaviour can be easily captured.Chapter Four gives the conclusion of the thesis, which includes the major findings and suggestions for further study.