A Study Of The Chinese Version Of The Good Earth By Wang Fengzhen From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

Translation Studies has gradually accomplished its historical transformation fromlinguistic-oriented approach to culture-oriented approach in the1970s-1990s.Researchers are progressively going from the internal text-oriented study to externalculture-oriented in a macroscopical perspective. Therefore translation is examined in alarger historical and cultural background; all kinds of external factors that constraintranslation and the role translation plays in shaping a certain culture also become theinterest of researchers. A Belgian-born scholar, André Lefevere (1945-1996) is one ofthe most influential figures and the “Manipulation Theory” he proposed is a significantachievement of cultural school in translation studies.Lefevere maintains that translation is rewriting; none translation activity occurs ina vacuum and accordingly is constrained by historical, cultural, social and some otherexternal factors. Hence translators, in the process of translation, more often than notwill be restricted by the target ideology, poetics and patronage and in order to maketheir translated works more acceptable in the target culture they have to adopt all kindsof manipulative means to rewrite intentionally the target text so as to make it meet theneeds of the audience. This thesis, taking Lefevere’s Manipulation Theory as thetheoretical basis, Wang Fengzhen’s Chinese version “Da Di” as the research object,with a descriptive approach intends to reveal how the ideology, poetics and patronagein target culture exert their influence on the translation of The Good Earth.The Good Earth wrote by a famous American writer Pearl S. Buck, was publishedin1931and caused a great sensation in America. This book was awarded Nobel Prizefor Literature in1938, and had been translated into more than one hundred languages inthe worldwide, deemed as an important bond bridging the Sino-Americancommunication. Since1980s, Chinese scholars began to reevaluate the value of “DaDi” and Buck, so its translation was once again put on the agenda. In recent years,many experts and scholars have made analysis of “Da Di” from the perspective offeminism, post colonialism, cultural back translation, adaptation theory, Hermeneutics,etc., while it is rare to study the socio-cultural factors that constrain the translation activity from the perspective of manipulation theory. Therefore, the author musters upcourage to fill this gap.On the basis of manipulation theory, this thesis firstly analyzes ideology’sconstraints upon the translated text respectively from the aspects of selection of thetranslation materials, translation process and acceptability of the translated text, amongwhich the manipulation upon translation process is discussed from the perspective ofpolitical ideology, aesthetic values and ethical morality; secondly poetologicalmanipulation upon the text is conducted in the aspects of lexicon, syntax and style;thirdly it elaborates the role patronage plays in the literary translation and thepublishing house’s manipulating function in the selection, formation and circulation ofthe translated text; finally the thesis attempts to find out what translation methods havebeen adopted in the version for meeting the target readers’ aesthetic appeal under theinfluence of all the manipulative constraints.From the analysis of the Chinese version of The Good Earth, this thesis concludesthat ideology plays a significant role in manipulating selection of translation materials,translation process and circulation of translated text, among which political ideology,aesthetic values and ethical morality constrain the formation of the translated text in amild way; the translator for according with the poetological appeal of target culture,with his or her own subjectivity rewrites intentionally some words, sentence structuresand style in the original; the publishing houses as patronage exert an indispensableinfluence on the formation, promotion and circulation of the translated text; finallysome translation methods have been adopted in the version like addition, repetition andconversion to make the translated version meet with the mainstream ideology andpoetics so that it can be supported by the patronage and gains worldwide popularity.This study proves the necessity of studying translation in a widely historical andcultural background as well as the general practicality of translation analysis in view ofmanipulation, which accordingly provides a new perspective for the future research ofBuck’s The Good Earth.