A Study Of Howard Goldblatt’s Translation Of Three Sisters From The Perspective Of Rewriting Theory

Yumi by Bi Feiyu has achieved a great success in mainland China upon publication, harvesting many prizes including the third Lu Xun literary prize in 2005. Its English version Three Sisters translated by Howard Goldblatt was also well-received by western readers and got Man Asian literary prize in 2011. Therefore, Howard Goldblatt’s translation of Three Sisters can be referred to as an example of the successful introduction of Chinese contemporary literature to western countries.As one of the representative theories of the cultural school in translation studies, Lefevere’s rewriting theory believes that the translating process is the process of rewriting by the translator, who is constrained and manipulated by ideology, poetics, and patronage. Rewriting theory broadens the field of translation studies, because the focus of translation studies is shifted from a mere comparison of language details to an examination of the factors that influence translators’ translation works. In comparison with other theories, rewriting theory has strong power in explaining the reasons behind the translating process.Based on the comparison of Yumi and its English translation Three Sisters, this thesis is attempting to analyze Howard Goldblatt’s translating process of Three Sisters under the theoretical structure of the three constraints, namely, ideology, poetics and patronage. It aims to find out how and in which aspects the translator rewrote the original text; besides, it will examine how these three constraints of rewriting theory influence the translator in his selection of the texts and his choice of the translating strategies and methods. The study also hopes to draw rewarding lessons for other translators in their translation work of Chinese contemporary literature.After comparison and analysis, the study reaches the following conclusions. Howard’s translating process of Three Sisters is constrained by ideology, poetics, and patronage in text selection and the choice of translating methods.He takes western readers’ acceptance and reading habits into consideration and rewrites on the basis of the original Chinese novel. These rewritings are reflected in the choice of words and expressions due to ideological reasons and in the arrangement of sentence structure, paragraph division and narrative perspective due to poetological reasons. In addition, patronage such as publishers also influences the translating process. Although Howard makes large numbers of rewritings, it doesn’t mean he only employs domestication in his translation. He also employs foreignization in some cases. The translating strategy he employs depends on the contexts and specific cases. It will be a rewarding experience for other translators in their translation of Chinese contemporary literary works.The thesis has six chapters. Chapter One introduces research background, research method, research questions and the significance of the study. Chapter Two reviews previous and current studies at home and abroad. Chapter Three is the theoretical structure, which introduces the rewriting theory and its three constraints, namely, ideology, poetics and patronage. Chapter Four is a case study, which respectively sorts out the rewritings under the constraints of ideology, poetics, and patronage. Chapter Five concludes the study with major findings, research significance, and suggestions for future study.