On Preface And Postscript Of Translation In Light Of Rewriting Theory

Preface and postscript are the most important subordinate concepts of the paratext or out-side text of translated works.Because of their adjacent position and closely-connected content to translated text,to some extent,those paratexts may influence or even guide readers' understanding of the translated text.During the culture-conflict period,such influence and guidance are more obvious,and in many cases,preface and postscript are added to shape reader's interpretation of translated works,which makes them a tool to rewrite the original text.In translation studies,however,this paratext-related rewriting has long been ignored.The New Culture Movement is an important transitional period when China witnessed a cultural reform.New thoughts,ideas and concepts were introduced to China through translation.Along with translated texts,there were many prefaces or postscripts during this period.They contributed a lot in spreading the rewriters' ideas.However,as paratexts,preface and postscript have received little attention so far.Therefore,it is necessary to study their role in rewriting the original text from the aspect of rewriting theory.Taking rewriting theory as the perspective,this thesis selects four publications,namely,New Youth,the Eastern Miscellany,Novel Monthly and Morning Supplement to explore how preface and postscript are used to influence target readers in their comprehending of translated text and then rewrite the original text.The study discovers that,the formation of preface and postscript in translation are affected by three control factors,namely,patronage,ideology and poetics.Moreover,the manipulation of three control factors on translated works is reflected by those paratexts in a more obvious way even than the selection of genre and source culture of translation introduced to China.According to the different prefaces or postscripts,the author divides the ways those paratexts guide readers' understanding of the translated works,in other words,rewrite the original text,into two.Additionally,preface and postscript's role in promoting the canonization of the translation is also introduced in this thesis.