On The Propagation Of Chinese Translation Quan Ti Tong Kao In China From A Cultural Perspective

This article attempts to write a translation history of the anatomical textbookGray’s Anatomy from the perspective of the propagation of its Chinese versionsthrough journals, editing, paratexts and marketing strategies as the co-work of thetranslators, the publishers, the societies, etc.The theoretical method applied in the article is descriptive translation study(DTS), especially the manipulation theory. The manipulation theory is also based onliterature translation as other theories of DTS. The manipulation theory is applied attwo levels: the paratextual level of paratexts and editing as well as extratextual levelof journals and marketing strategies.The main body of this article studies about how Quan Ti Tong Kao waspropagated through journals, editing and paratexts as well as marketing strategies.Propagation through journals looks into the related introductions and critical articlesby the translator and other people in foreign and China’s journals. Propagationthrough editing and paratexts looks into the editing of the translator and the editor aswell as a frontispiece and8prefaces by renowned celebrities,1preface by thetranslator,“History of Holistic Human Anatomy” and two books of atlas of humananatomy. Propagation through marketing strategies looks into the marketingstrategies of the translator, the publishing house and the societies to promote Quan TiTong Kao. The last chapter shows the results of the propagation of Quan Ti Tong Kaoin China and it makes an analysis on the reasons for such results. From theperspective of the set-up of a new discipline and the introduction of new knowledge,the propagation of Quan Ti Tong Kao is a success; but in the case of the sales and theduration of the translated work, the result is not satisfactory. The reasons vary fromthe sender, the media and the receptor.The article has four findings through its research. Firstly, the theoreticalmethods for literature translation as DTS and the manipulation theory are indeedsuitable for studying non-literature works. Secondly, the assessment about the propagation of a specific work should be based on various criteria instead of theinstant and explicit sales of books. Thirdly, translation has its own path ofdevelopment which can not be easily changed by exterior forces. Fourthly, the actionof manipulation does not necessarily lead to a manipulated outcome for it is apresupposition based on the intended goal of the translation.