On English Translation Of "red" Novels In New China(1949-1966)

With the victory of Chinese revolution and the foundation of New China, a largenumber of “Red” works sprung up like mushrooms, which reflect the revolutionaryspirit and heroism. Among them,“Red” novel, as a literary genre which representsmany distinctive characteristics of contemporary Chinese literature, influenced manygeneration of New China. They were brought out by means of outward translationinitiated by China autonomously during1949-1966, which witnesses a new wave oftranslation boom generated after the foundation of The Press General Administrationof the Central People’s Government and later impeded as a result of the Great CultureRevolution. Though the outward translation in1949-1966has attracted many scholars’attention, the study is still weak in the English translation of “Red” novels during thisperiod.This thesis aims to examine the English translation of “Red” novels in NewChina (1949-1966), with methodologies of inductive and comparative study, as wellas quantitative and qualitative analysis. Firstly, the general overview is analyzed andinduced, including the translators, subjects and translation purposes, on the basis ofthe policy, institute and process of outward translation. And with Daughters and Sons,the first “Red” novel translated by Sidney Shapiro who translated largest number of“Red” novels, as the case sudy, this thesis is an attempt to demonstrate the mainfeatures of “Red” novels.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is a basic introduction of thebackground, purpose, significance and methodology of the research. Chapter Two isthe literature review in which researches on the “Red” novels and their translationboth in China and abroad are summarized and achievements and deficiencies of theresearches are demonstrated. Chapter Three systematically examines the translationpolicy, institute and process. Then quantitative approaches are used to thoroughly examine all the English versions of “Red” novels, with the purpose of analyzing theinteraction between translation and current ideology generally. Chapter Four focuseson Shapiro’s translation of Daughters and Sons, from the perspectives ofpreface(postscript), hero, and strategies of specific “red” terms and expressions,aiming at finding the main specific characteristics of “Red” novels. Chapter Five isthe conclusion of the thesis, which summarizes the findings and points out thelimitations of the research.The outward literary translation in New China (1949-1966) initiated the outwardtranslation model conducted by press under politics-oriented translation policy. Theoutward translation of “Red” novels, closely associated with current historical andpolitical background, played an important role in publicizing the main stream ofChinese literature at that time and building a new positive image of China. Shapiro’stranslation of Daughters and Sons became the first sign of outward translation of“Red” novels and his translation behavior such as in textual feature, the translation ofred words is beneficial to the later generations. Moreover, this thesis can also give ussome implication for outward introduction of Chinese works and culture, as well asthe strategy “let Chinese Culture go global”.