A Study On The English Translation Of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li From The Perspective Of Manipulation Rewriting

The thesis is a case study of the English translation of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li from theperspective of Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory with a view of exploring manipulationrewriting strategies in the translation. By way of a comparative study between the source textand the translated text, the thesis firstly investigates the whole characteristics of thetranslation, including the linguistic expression, language style and acceptability. What’s more,the thesis also investigates the strategies which the translator used to express and translate theplots, characters, psychological and background descriptions and the representation ofChinese-special cultural elements, such as jade culture and religious culture. In addition, thethesis contains a detailed analysis of some translation phenomena such as omission, additionand alterations in the translation and the deeper causes behind the translation phenomenonand the influences exerted by these phenomena. Then the thesis investigates the purpose andintention of the rewriting in the translation according to an analysis of the background of theauthor and the translator, social background of the source text and translated text to reveal thedeeper causes behind the translation phenomenon from the aspects of ideology, poetics andpatronage. Finally, the thesis explains the cultural loss in the translation and discusses the“properness” of a translation from the perspective of manipulation theory. In conclusion,weighting the advantages and disadvantages, rewriting is a kind of “proper” translation.The thesis contains five chapters. Chapter One is introduction, including researchobjective and significance, previous researches on Mu Si Lin De Zang Li, research questionsand methodology, and structures of the thesis. Chapter Two is literature review. The first partbegins with the introduction to the author Huo Da and Mu Si Lin De Zang Li. The second partis made up of the achievements and significance of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li in China. The third part presents about the significance of the English translation of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li. Thelast part is devoted to the application of Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory in literary texts.Chapter Three is the theoretical framework. The first part begins with the introduction toAndre Lefevere and culture school of translation study. The second part is made up of theintroduction to manipulation school and rewriting theory. The last part is about thedevelopment and innovation of manipulation theory. Chapter Four is the application ofmanipulation rewriting theory in translation of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li. The first part is aboutthe principal manipulation rewriting strategies, including omission, addition and alteration.The second part is about the characteristics of the translation of Mu Si Lin De Zang Li fromthe aspects of linguistic expression, language style and acceptability. The third part presentsthe cultural elements to exert influences on translation strategies, including ideology, poeticsand patronage. The last part is about the cultural loss and the discussion about the“properness” of translation. Chapter Five is the conclusion. Weighing the advantages anddisadvantages of the rewriting strategies, the rewriting is a kind of “proper” translation.