Rewriting From The Perspective Of Power-discourse Theory

In 2012, Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, which not only wins honor for Chinese people but also gives illumination to the development of Chinese literature. One of the reasons for his success is his impressive combination of folk tales and modern society, but another important reason is the help of the translators of his works, among whom Howard Goldblatt should be given special attention to for his excellent translation in English. As a translator, Goldblatt always holds the view that translator should strike a balance between the fidelity to the source text and the acceptability of the target culture and that translation is a rewriting process instead of copying. His way of understanding translators is a critical factor to his good performance.The Garlic Ballads is a typical “Mo Yan style” because it depicts the life of Chinese peasants in rural area and the hardship they have to overcome. Therefore, it is of difficulty for Goldblatt to translate because of its exotic culture and a totally different ideology. His struggle between the two cultures is what the Power-discourse theory describes as the confrontation between two powers. According to Foucault, power does not only refer to the one in political or violent sense; it actually exists in every aspect of our society from families to countries. And in this novel, the major contradictory powers between two cultures are the same as the viewpoints of the cultural school who thereby divide them into three main kinds: ideology, poetics and patronage. No matter in which area of these three, the victory sides decide the “correct” discourse and the knowledge. Through Power-discourse theory, we can peer into his inner world of conflicts and perceive his preference as a result of being influenced by different powers.It is sincerely hoped that this thesis will fully embody the influences of powers on the novel and that it will be of help to the future study of translation.