A Comparative Study Of Two Translated Versions Of Murder On The Orient Express From The Perspective Of Manipulation

Since the introduction of detective novels from the end of Qing Dynasty, China iscrazy for this new literary style. Many detectives become Chinese people’s hero, such asSherlock Holmes by Conon Doyle. Another writer—Agatha Christie, who is called asthe queen of detective novels, also produces splendid works. Murder on the OrientExpress is Agatha’s symbolic work which is worth to study. Because of differenttranslators, people read different versions of Murder on the Orient Express, and no onecould affirm which version is better.Most scholars consider detective novels as entertainment rather than seriousliterature, which results that little attention is paid to detective novels. It isacknowledged that in detective novels there are several key elements, such asconversations, suspense, and atmosphere. Whether the translation displays those factorsof original work could deeply affects the attraction of a detective novel. Therefore, wehave to put more attention on translation of detective novels, and expecting to presentbetter translations to public and realize cultural communication with western world. Asfor Murder on the Orient Express, this study will choose two versions of translation todo a comparative research, Zhang Aiqian’s and Chen Yaoguang’s, separately comesfrom Yuan Jing press and Ren Wen press. These two versions are published in differenttimes and places. Among the two translators, Chen Yaoguang is a serious scholar, whileZhang Aiqian’s translation is done by the edition of San Mao, a noted writer. Therefore,comparative study of these two versions is feasible.This study will be processed by the help of manipulation theory. Traditionaltranslation theory tends to focus on text. Lefevere’s manipulation theory transferspeople’s attention to cultural background. It includes three factors: ideology, poetics,and sponsors, which will be adopted by the author to study translations of detectivenovels. After analyzing two Chinese versions of Murder on the Orient Express, thisstudy finds out that two translators have been manipulated in many aspects includepolitical, cultural and aesthetic ideology; their different poetology is also manipulatingtheir translation; in addition, they are under manipulation of different presses andgovernments, Among which Zhang Aiqian’s work is under edition of San Mao, may hasbeen manipulated by her to a some degree. Because of these manipulations, theirtranslations are totally distinct from each other. This study is expecting to arouse scholars’ more attention to detective novels’translation, and present better quality of translation to readers.