On “Translator’s Imprints” In Eileen Chang’s Self-Translation Works

As the development of translation activities continues for thousands of years, Chinese and western translation theories gradually focus on more extensive and intensive problems of translation. Accordingly, the identity of the translator draws more and more attention. “Translator’s imprints” originates from the concepts of “translator’s style” and “translator’s voice”. The change demonstrates more and more emphases on the role of the translator. With the studies on “The Translator’s Invisibility”, “The Translator’s Turn” and then “The Translator’s Imprints”, the subjectivity of the translator is attached great importance to. The emergence and existence of the theory for translator’s imprints lies in the formulation and development of some translation theories, mainly post-colonial translation theory, feminist translation theories and deconstructionist translation theory. And the study of translator’s imprints enriches the researches on translation phenomenology and translation theories in a broad sense. These translation theories and the study of translator’s imprints shall help to break the stereotyped system for translation theories to enlighten the uniqueness of the translation. Also, Dong Na, the first scholar to put forward the expression of “translator’s imprints”, categorizes the analytical framework of translator’s imprints into lingual features and non-lingual features, which provides a comprehensive way to analyze translator’s imprints.As a special translation activity, self-translation embodies a concentrated reflection of the dialectical relations between the author and the translator, constraints and creativity, self-translation, creating and conventional translation, and especially the individual imprints of a translator. Eileen Chang was an outstanding legend female in terms of her life experiences and significant roles in writing and translation as well. Throughout the translation history in China, Eileen Chang’s self-translation might be the most typical with the most complicated self-translation forms. Her translator’s imprints are obvious to be seen in her self-translation works. The influencing factors of Eileen Chang’s translator’s imprints can be divided into two mainly aspects, namely external factors such as ideology, poetics, patronage, and internal factors such as the purpose of translation and bilingual skills. As a unique and representational translator, Eileen Chang is worth intensive studying about her translator’s imprints.This thesis integrates the two newly emerging research interests, namely self-translation and translator’s imprints, to highlight how translator’s imprints are presented in self-translation works through the analysis of Eileen Chang’s self-translation works from the perspective of translator’s imprints. The combination of translator’s imprints with self-translation is a completely new attempt. In the thesis, a comprehensive involvement with Eileen Chang’s main self-translation works is made to help demonstrate her three translator’s imprints: China-based standard, gender-based standard and author-based standard, which are formed under the joint influence of both external factors and internal factors. This thesis sorts out the achievements made in the researches on translator’s imprints and Eileen Chang’s self-translation works, explores the translator’s imprints of Chang, analyzes Chang’s main self-translation works exactly carrying the three standards from the perspective of lingual features and non-lingual features, and throw light upon the three translator’s imprints of Eileen Chang. The thesis makes obvious the existence of translator’s imprints and the specific features, highlights the identity and significance of the translator, enriches the study on the translator’s imprints and the theoretical and practical researches on self-translation phenomenology, and further expands the research achievements about Eileen Chang in the literary field.