A Study On The Paratexts And Their Functions In The English Translation Of Sanyan In Light Of Genette's Paratext Theory

Stories Old and New, Stories to Caution the World and Stories to Awaken the World, known as Sanyan in the Chinese history of literature, are a series of 120 short stories. This series is compiled by Feng Menglong. Among those stories, some have been written by him. Sanyan, as the masterpiece of Chinese vernacular fiction, has a great impact on the development of literature. Stories in the series touched upon many aspects of the Ming Dynasty, revealing a vivid picture of life at that time. Since its first publication, it enjoys the name of Chinese vernacular fiction's masterpiece until today.Such a significant work has a long history of being translated into foreign languages. Among those versions, a few of them have produced great influence. Competitive products are no doubt scarce.This thesis takes two of them as the objects of study. They are the two versions translated by Yang Shuhui &Yang Yunqin and by Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang. Employing the theory of paratext by Gérard Genette, this thesis discussed two aspects. The first one is that paratext elements reflect the technique translators used and the problems they confronted. The second is that paratext elements themselves have an influence on translated work.The thesis consists of five parts. In Introduction, the first part, the research background, significance, research method and structure of the thesis are briefed. Chapter One supplies detailed information on the original author, the two group translators, the translated versions of Sanyan and previous studies on Sanyan. Chapter Two provides the theoretical framework of the thesis. Definition, major elements and classification of paratexts are included in this chapter. Chapter Three is the main part of the thesis. In this chapter the thesis analyzes the two English versions of Sanyan by Yang Shuhui & Yang Yunqin and Xianyi & Gladys Yang from the perspective of paratexts. By comparing the differences between the two versions, the thesis aims to conclude paratexts' reflection on a translated work. The fifth part, a conclusion, summarizes the major findings and implications of the study as well as its limitations and suggestions for further study.Using the comparison analysis of the two versions of Sanyan stories, this thesis concludes that paratexts in them fall into two categories: peritexts(which include prefaces, notes and inter-titles) and epitexts(which include the publisher's epitexts and the public authorial epitexts). The former demonstrates the translation strategies of translators and the problems they meet, while the latter procures acceptance of the translated works. This thesis tries to discuss those influence in the light of the concept of paratext from Gérard Genette. It is a valuable trial for translation studies.