A Study Of The Translation Of Contemporary Chinese Literary Works From The Perspective Of Bourdieu's Sociological Theory

This thesis is a case study of the English translation of Mo Yan's Hong Gao Liang Jia Zu,i.e.Red Sorghum by Howard Goldblatt from the perspective of Bourdieu's sociological theory.This thesis endeavors to figure out how it was influenced by what Bourdieu calls field,capital and habitus,the three core concepts of his theory.Besides,the author proposes some reasonable approaches in terms of the translation of contemporary Chinese literature.The thesis begins with a brief analysis of what American literature was like in the 1990s,which was marked by a trend of anti-traditional thought.Then after a discussion of Red Sorghum in terms of the theme,way of narration and plot,it is found that all the main elements of novel,including the plot of the folk resistance against Japanese aggressors in the 1930s and first half of the 1940s,the theme of highlighting the folk heroes,the complicated romance stories between the protagonists,as well as the description about violence and sex,seem to be in accordance with the American literary field,which means that they should be able to arouse the interests of the American readers..In terms of capital,this thesis mainly analyzes the capital of Hong Gao Liang Jia Zu,Mo Yan and Goldblatt.The capital of the original novel involves both the world fame of the text itself and the adapted movie Hong Gao Liang.Both Mo Yan and Goldblatt have enjoyed great reputation in the literary field and the translation field respectively with many awards which have brought them symbolic capitals.Then an analysis is made of the habitus of Goldblatt from three interrelated aspects.First,the author reviews his life trajectory and academic experiences,which are the root and underlying cause of the formation of his habitus.Goldblatt's unique habitus is shaped through the numerous practices and can be shown in his preferences while choosing what to translate and his idea about the moderate combination of faithfulness and creative treason.Red Sorghum is a best case to illustrate his habitus.Afterwards,the author moves to the specific case study of Goldblatt's translation strategies applied in Red Sorghum,including readers-oriented domestication strategies and foreignization strategies.Based on the above analysis,the author proposes a number of methods for literary translation such as focusing on the connection of different fields,strengthening the capital factor and highlighting the habitus of the translator,which might shed some new light on the translation of contemporary Chinese literature.