Official Patron’s Manipulation: Patronage In Translating Political Discourse Of Contemporary China

Since the “cultural turn” of the1980s in the West, the socio-cultural aspects oftranslation have been analyzed by an increasing number of scholars. The issue ofpatronage, listed as one of three influencing factors in the translation process proposedby Lefevere, has been placed under scrutiny in the discussion of manipulative relationsbetween the patron and the translator. Based on previous researches and historical data,and under the guidance of the western manipulation theory, this thesis attempts toexplore the factor of patronage in translating the political discourse of contemporaryChina.After a brief review of literature about the manipulation theory and a carefulretrospect of patronage in history, this thesis scans the official patronage in Chinesetranslation context with regard to its definition, its composition, and means ofsponsorship in different historical periods. Then with the investigation of reports andstatistics on China’s foreign publicity and translation undertakings, the goals and meansof official patron’s manipulation in translation activities are highlighted. Besides, thecase study of the translation of Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping Volume III (1982-1992)is used to substantiate the previous arguments and verify the patron’s manipulation insuch aspects as selecting translators, organizing translation and publication work, anddictating translation norms.Starting from the general discussion to the specific analysis, this thesis provides abrief picture of historical evolution of government-run translation institutions andofficial translation activities. Based on this discussion the following conclusions aremade. First, the official patron represented by emperors, kings, officials and governmentorgans has dominated China’s translation undertaking in most time of the history and isstill the leading power in translating Chinese political discourse. Second, there are threetypes of patron-translator relations classified according to the different intensity ofmanipulation: the loose employer-employee relation (the host-guest relation and thefriend relation), the strict superior-subordinate relation (or the monarch-subject relation)and the modern employer-employee relation. Third, the contemporary politicaltranslation features a complex dual structure of patronage with the government patronsitting at the upper tier and the institution patron sitting on the lower tier. With thedouble effects of patronage, the official patron becomes an extremely forceful power inmanipulating official political translation, including the control over selection of translation topics, the establishment of official translation institutions, the impact on thetranslation mechanism, the control of translators and the textual manipulation.In the final analysis, the official patron’s manipulation of Chinese politicaltranslation is a way to seek faithfulness in translating the official text, to constraintranslators’ subjectivity and creation, and to ensure the overall translation activities arecompatible with its political and economic purposes.