An Analysis Of Li Jiye's Translation Of The Private Papers Of Henry Ryecroft In Light Of Pierre Bourdieu's Sociological Theory

Li Jiye is a prominent translator in modern translation circle in China.His translation activities last more than sixty years.He began to work on the foreign literature translation from the 1930s and he made great achievements on literary translation.In the meantime he introduced foreign literature to Chinese readers.The number of translated works reached a peak especially when he was in charge of various tasks in Weiming Society which was set up under the suggestion of Lu Xun.During that period he translated a large number of Russian literary works which brought a positive influence to social revolutions.Many of his translated works received highly approving comments and won great popularity among readers.Although Li Jiye made a lot of achievements on translation,till now few studies on Li Jiye's translation are conducted.In this dissertation the author will focus on the study of Li Jiye's translation of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft.During the Anti-Japanese War,our country was in a great national crisis and he was separated from his family.It is exactly under this certain social condition that Li Jiye chose to translate this book.Therefore,it is necessary to analyze this translated work because of this special social and cultural conditions.In the first place,the characteristics will be carefully analyzed.Four characteristics have been discovered:1)the use of vernacular Chinese;2)the use of classical Chinese;3)the use of reiterative and four-character structure;4)his preference for literal translation.Next the author will explore the various social factors in connection with his translation in light of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory.Based on Bourdieu's sociological theory,three main concepts of field,habitus and capital,are applied to analyze the social factors influencing his translation of The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft.It is found out that the whole translation process is inevitably influenced by different social factors:1)in terms of field,the use of vernacular is prevalent in his time and in face of a turbulent society,he chose to translate The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft to search for inner peace;2)in terms of habitus,Li Jiye's education background resulted in his choice of reiterative and four-character structure and classical Chinese and under the influence of Lu Xun,he preferred literal translation;3)in terms of capital,the social capital which Li Jiye acquired through his relationship with Lu Xun who helped him enter the field of translation and Li Jiye enhanced his own symbolic capital,namely,literary prestige,in the field of translation with his great contribution to the translation of foreign literary works.