The Translation And Reception Of Decoded:a Novel In The English World

Decoded:A Novel, the English version of JieMi, is the masterpiece of famous Chinese contemporary writer and scriptwriter Maijia. The work becomes a popular topic in Europe and America after published among 35 English speaking countries on March 20,2014. This novel transcends the majority of Chinese fiction published overseas. Moreover, it also breaks the record in copyright royalty of 15% on books for the Chinese writers abroad, which equals to the remuneration level of the local best-selling authors in America. Faced with the inefficient practice of Chinese literature "going-global", such a case deserves our attention in any aspect. In the light of this, the thesis will take the English version of JieMi as a typical successful case of the practice of Chinese literature "going-global".On the basis of close reading, this paper attempts to elucidate the phenomenon of creative treason in the English version of JieMi in view of translator’s subjectivity as well as discuss the translation strategies adopted by the translator from the perspective of "habits" and applicability of "skopos" in fictional translation. By collecting and analyzing the data of OCLC and book reviews made by professionals as well as general readers on the biggest online bookstore, the author of the thesis hopes to provide an overall introduction of reception. After reviewing translation and introduction to JieMi, we can draw a conclusion that a successful publication not only relies on that the book should cater for the tastes of western readers, but also meets the requirements of publishing house’s values.With the cultural turn, translation studies have shifted the perspective to the factors outside the text besides the problem of language conversion. However, it is a long and complicated social activity from the selection of a text to the reception of the readers. The eventual result has a close relation with every step in the process of circulation. It not only depends on the artistic value of the text, but also relies on the translator, the publishing institutions, the mainstream media, etc.