A Study On The Chinese Translation Of Moment In Peking From The Perspective Of The Extended Rhetoric

The Extended Rhetoric, proposed by Tan Xuechun and Zhu Ling, is the deepening and development of Rhetoric, which takes findings from related disciplines such as stylistics, narratology and philosophy, and emphasizes the recognition of rhetoric and the study of people. Translation is an intercourse activity with symbol transformation as its means and meaning reproduction as its task (Xu Jun,2003:75). Translation and rhetoric are both language communication activities, and transtology and rhetoric are both the humanities studying language communication activities. In view of interdisciplinarity between the two humanities, this thesis analyzes the translated version with Extended Rhetoric, offering a new perspective for translation criticism and re-evaluating the criterion of translation criticism.This thesis takes Zhang Zhenyu’s Chinese version of Moment in Peking as a research topic. The author of original work, Lin Yutang, aims to introduce the real Chinese society and Chinese culture at that time to the west with this English novel. The book shows Lin’s admiration of Chinese culture and deep love for his motherland. According to the three-level construction of the Extended Rhetoric proposed by Tan Xuechun and Zhu Ling, that is, rhetorical technique, rhetorical poetic and rhetorical philosophy, the thesis discusses Zhang Zhenyu’s Chinese version by criticizing the Chinese version in comparison with the source text on the one hand and from a rhetoric standpoint on the other, and viewing the translated version as an independent text. The thesis studies the artistry of the version in rhetorical technique and rhetorical poetics, and the ideology of the version in philosophy.Through comparative studies of English and Chinese versions of Moment in Peking, it shows that Zhang Zhenyu’s Chinese version is worth reading. First, the translation of characters’names and culture-loaded words is nearly accurate. Trying to be faithful to the original work, the translation better spreads the Chinese culture in Moment in Peking as it uses the method of domestication. Second, the faithfulness to the original in unreliable narration lies in the change of narration perspective, which represents the multiple perspective narration of the original work as well as the wonderful plot and various characters of the source text. Third, the translated version reflects the women’s and men’s outlook of Lin Yutang, and is in accordance with the ideology of the original work in rhetoric philosophy. Therefore, Zhang Zhenyu’s Chinese version becomes the most widely spread Chinese version in the world. Zhang’s translating technique and accurate grasping of Chinese ideology provides experience for later translators.At the same time, the study of Zhang Zhenyu’s Chinese version of Moment in Peking from the perspective of the Extended Rhetoric shows that the workability of application of the Extended Rhetoric in translation criticism. The objectiveness and macro-analysis offers new theoretical hints for the translation criticism of novels.