A Study On Ying Ruocheng’s Drama Translation Theory As Shown In His English Version Of Teahouse

Ying Ruocheng, conversant with ancient and modern learning, is an eminent Chinese director, actor, translator and cultural celebrity who enjoys a high reputation in drama translation and performance both at home and abroad. He is sometimes dubbed as "Mr. Knowledgeable". As a translator, Ying Ruocheng has translated nearly twenty dramatic texts from English to Chinese (e.g. Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure) and from Chinese to English (e.g. Lao She’s Teahouse), all of which enjoy great popularity among actors, audience, and readers.As an experienced actor and translator, Ying Ruocheng has put forward his own theoretical thoughts on drama translation. One unique feature of his drama translation practice and theory is sufficient consideration given to both the need and reality of stage performance and direction. He emphasizes the importance of orality, gestuality and individuality, and gives due priority to the maintenance of dramatic literariness which consists of dramatic situation and dramatic image. He holds the view that translators should not only take care of the aesthetic habits of the target language audience but also give them access to new elements of foreign culture. From this it can be seen that Ying Ruocheng’s drama translation theory is systematic because it combines dramatics with theatricality and takes audience’s response into consideration.Ying Ruocheng made great contribution in the exchange between Chinese and western drama cultures and set a fine model for drama translation in China. However, it seems that Ying Ruocheng as a translator and translation theorist has not received enough academic attention and due respect in the field of translation studies. Studies on Ying Ruocheng’s drama translation conducted in recent years either merely touch upon his views on translation, or take his translation as mere comparative versions, or adopt a certain theory to analyze only one of his translated works. Most of these studies offer general description and summarization while detailed and systematic analyses of his translation practice in combination with his translation thoughts seem deploringly sparse.The present thesis attempts to analyze and clarify Ying Ruocheng’s drama translation theory, which is found to be built upon his unique perception of drama translation as an organic whole consisting of viewing and performing systems as well as a variety of dramatic elements. By ample specific examples which are carefully chosen from Ying Roucheng’s translation of Teahouse, an in-depth analysis of his drama translation strategies is presented for the purpose of illustrating and verifying the feasibility and rationality of his drama translation theory.This thesis consists in six chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to the basic aims of this paper, significance of the study, research methodology and the organization of this paper. Chapter Two offers a brief account of Ying Ruocheng’s career and accomplishment as a drama translator. Chapter Three provides a literature review, in which some relevant studies on drama translation, on Ying Ruocheng’s drama translation in particular, are presented. Chapter Four makes a concrete study on Ying’s drama translation theory and provides a detailed analysis of Ying’s drama translation theory as is evident in his translation of Teahouse. Chapter Five presents carefully chosen examples from Ying Ruocheng’s translation of Teahouse aimed at illustrating the feasibility and rationality of his translation theory. Chapter Six summarizes the major findings and points out limitations of the present study.