The Ideological Influence On Literary Translation From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

The thesis,based on Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory,conducts a case study of the two English versions of Liao Zhai Zhi Yi,namely,Herbert Giles’s version published in the Victorian period of Britain in the 19th century and Yang Hsien-yi’s version published in China during the period from 1950s to 1960s.Taking ideology as a starting point,the thesis adopts the qualitative method and the paradigm of descriptive translation studies to compare and analyze the two English versions from the perspectives of text selection,rewriting of the original text and choice of translation strategy.Putting the two translators and their translations in the social,historical and cultural systems where they are in respectively,the thesis aims to explore how the external ideological factors manipulate the process of literary translation by influencing the translator’s choice.The findings are as follows:First,in the choice of the source text,Giles translates Liao Zhai Zhi Yi in order to help the western world truly understand the Chinese culture,and meanwhile cater to the need of the Chinese language learning of the British society;while Yang aims at responding to the political call of Mao Zedong’s thought of "no fear of ghosts" and conforming to the civic morality construction of New China.Second,in the rewriting of the original content,both Giles and Yang delete or rewrite the sexual descriptions of the source text out of the consideration of the social attitudes towards sex.In the translation of "Yi Shi Shi Yue",Giles omits nearly all to comply with the mainstream narrative mode of British fiction in the Victorian period;whereas Yang keeps every one of them to meet with the political ideological requirements in the Chinese society.Third,in the selection of translation strategy,Giles out of the sense of cultural superiority mainly chooses the domestication strategy to help target English readers better comprehend and accept his translation;while Yang principally selects the foreignization strategy for the purpose of the cultural exchange with other countries and the establishment of a positive international image of China.The result suggests that translation,as a form of rewriting,is not produced in a vacuum but restricted and influenced by the social and cultural environment where the translator is in.In translation study,it is more objective and comprehensive to break through the intrinsic system of language and introduce the social and historical dimensions,taking into consideration of the external system of language.