The Figure Of Cao-Cao In Thai Versions Of "Romance Of The Three Kingdoms"

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic Chinese novel, has experienced a long course of being spread, translated and localized in Thailand, and it is one of the brightest colors in the history of China-Thailand cultural exchange. The translation of the novel commenced under the order from the first king of the Bangkok Dynasty. As a result, the version by Chaophraya Phrakhlang(Hon) came out, which generated profound influences on Thai literature and accelerated the spread and localization of the novel in Thailand. Since then, many adaptions and imitations of the novel sprang out. The object of this study is the figure of Cao-Cao taken from a translation and two adaptions, say, the “Hon version”, the “beggar version” and the “rich version”, with the purpose of investigating similarities and differences of the figure in the three versions. The effects of socio-cultural value, the changing of times and author's personal willpower in different historical periods on the figure of Cao-Cao are discussed, with taking into consideration the relations between literary figure and three aspects: culture, history and author. Changes of Cao-Cao's literary figure is a brand-new research perspective, on one h and, it is an exploration for scholars' studies on translation and communication of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Thailand, on the other hand, it is conducive to enhancing the understanding about Thai history, culture and values, and deepening mutual friendship and exchange between China and Thailand.