Creative Treason In English Translation Of Mao Zedong’s Poems

Medio-translatology is originated from the Comparative Literature Mediology. The term "creative treason" in Medio-translatology was first put forward by a French literary sociologist Robert Escarpit in 1958. In the 1990s, Professor Xie Tianzhen has been committed to the research of Medio-translatology. In the book Medio-translatology, he made a more detailed explanation of "creative treason". He claimed that creativity in literary translation demonstrates the translator’s subjective endeavors to represent the source text with the translator’s own artistic creativity, while treason in literary translation reflects the translator’s betrayal to the source text out of the translator’s subjective intention. The study of "creative treason" in Medio-translatology theoretically affirms translators’creative value in literary translation and their status in literary history as well.This thesis examines Xu Yuanzhong’s translation of Mao Zedong’s poems from the angle of "creative treason". Mao’s poems have won a wide popularity among readers, the theme of which covers patriotism, heroism, revolutionary optimism, friendship and love, etc. And the grandeur, the inspiration and the vigor conveyed by him hold readers spellbound. Xu Yuanzhong is acknowledged as an expert in classical Chinese poetry translation and has gained remarkable achievements, whose reputation mainly rests on the initiation of the "Three-Beauty Principle"--beauty in sense, beauty in sound and beauty in form. Since Xu Yuanzhong’s translated version is highly praised, this thesis chooses it as an example to exam the embodiment and application of "creation treason" in the cross-cultural translation process.This thesis is a case study, in which analytic approach, ground-theory based method and inductive reasoning are applied. The purpose of this thesis is to elucidate the concept of "creative treason", analyze the subjectivity of the translator, study how Xu strikes a balance between fidelity and creativity in translation, and explore how "creative treason" is embodied at the linguistic, literary and cultural levels with Xu Yuanzhong’s "Three-Beauty Principle" in the translation.Therefore, the thesis safely draws the following conclusions. First, the employment of "creative treason" in poetry translation makes the rebirth of the original in the target language cultural environment. Second, creative treason appearing in Xu’s English poetry translation are based on the careful consideration and study of both the original text and the native customs, and they are never random ones. Third, Xu’s translation reveals creative treason in various aspects like all other translation works, which demonstrates that creative treason is not a choice but a universal phenomenon one must accept. This is contributed to the reasons that both the conscious mind and the unconscious mind of the translator could exert influences on the translation. Last but not the least, Translators are not "traitors", but that they should play an active role in translation.The significance of the thesis lies in that through the research on "creative treason" in Xu’s translation, it may help the readers have a better understanding of the features of literary translation--absolute fidelity in translation sometimes is impossible and translators should play an active role in translation. Besides, the thesis explores the reasons and strategies of creative treason from the angle of "Three-beauty Principle". Therefore, it may be helpful for readers to have a deeper understanding of Xu’s translation achievements and appreciate the efforts and contributions that Xu makes in the whole process of translation. Meanwhile, it is also a practice to apply Medio-translatology to the practical translation analysis.