The English Translation Of Wang Anyi's "everlasting Regret" Of Shanghai Style Culture

With the rise of China’s economy, Shanghai, the cosmopolitan city as the economic center, financial center and trading center of China, has enjoyed a high fame in the world. Apart from the exchanges in economy between China and other nations, the cultural exchange is of great importance. Therefore it has especially become a meaningful work to familiarize the world with Shanghai-style culture.Wang Anyi, a renowned writer of Shanghai Style Literature, wrote the masterpiece of work Chang Hen Ge in1995, which was based on the background of Shanghai from the1940’s to the1980’s and told the stories of the main character Wang Qiyao. It seemed that the book was about Wang Qiyao, yet actually it referred to the wax and wane of Shanghai. And the images, characters and stories about Shanghai in this book were most attractive to the domestic readers and scholars. Michael Berry and Susan Chan Egan co-translated this book into The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, which was published in2008.Seeing that there are both merits and demerits in the translation and the language competence of both translators, the author of the thesis has tried to study and analyze it in depth, in an attempt to indicate that whether the Shanghai-style images and features have recurred or have been reserved in its translation.The author consulted plenty of references and other helpful information in her study of the typical features of Shanghai Style, as being one distinctive from other, say, Jing School (Beijing Style), styles in literary creation. They are:1. Shanghai Style Literature is a kind of regional literature and Shanghai is its regional center;2. Shanghai Style Literature is enveloped with a heavy and thick halo of commercialism;3. Shanghai Style Literature involves a wide range, which means that it is so extremely tolerant that it has not only combined the traditional Chinese culture with the western culture, but also successfully been a mixture of the former two and the local culture;4. Shanghai Style Literature is a school where the female’s consciousness of both independence and liberty is demonstrated to somewhat fullness.According to those typical features of Shanghai Style Literature, the author classified the study into three chapters, respectively focusing on the space environment, finery and furniture, and representative characters, to see whether the features indicated in the original version could be also fully displayed and clearly found in the translation. If not, the author would try to correct the English text where mistakes were found, give some advice to the point, or add something to the text where the translators ignored but quite necessary. Whatever translating methods and strategies the author preferred to depend on, the author just attempted to make sure the reappearance of all the images and elements that were on behalf of the Shanghai-style culture in the English text was totally complete and remained to have the same effects as the original text.As is mentioned above, the author regarded Wang Anyi and Shanghai in the Song of Everlasting Sorrow as the background, and tried to find out the methods and strategies for a better translation of the original work. Thus it might be a good way to show Shanghai Style literature and culture to all our foreign friends over the world, as well as to show them that China is a country that is always seeking common grounds while preserving differences.