A Study On Creative Treason In Chinese Translation Of On A Chinese Screen

Most readers in China are familiar with the name of the British writer William Somerset Maugham and his most renowned novels. What they don't know is that he shares a long-standing bond with China and even wrote a series of literary works using China as the story background. Among those works, the most noteworthy one is the travel note On a Chinese Screen which he wrote after travelling to China in 1919. With the 1987 Chinese version of On a Chinese Screen translated by Chen Shougeng as its main subject, the thesis focuses on the creative treason of this Chinese version by applying two concepts -"creative treason" and -"rewriting". Also the 2013 Chinese version translated by Tang Jianqing will be used as a reference. To be more specific,this thesis explores and analyses the rewriting of the images of characters and some other contents in the 1987 Chinese version. The images of westerners living in China and the poorest Chinese people, Chinese culture and social conditions in China at that time are all included. Also the influence of these rewritings on the image of Maugham himself will also be analyzed.The thesis consists of four parts. The first part is mainly a brief introduction of On a Chinese Screen and its history of being translated into Chinese. Also all studies on the Chinese translations of the book will be introduced. After that, the research question and theoretical perspectives of the thesis will be raised. The Second part is about two theoretical perspectives which are used in this research. One of them is creative treason and the other is rewriting. The third part focuses on analyzing examples from Chen's translation from which its creative treason can be identified. Also the influence of creative treason of Chen's translation on the image of Maugham himself will be presented. The last part summarizes the whole thesis and points out the defects of this research.When examining Chen's translation from the perspective of creative treason and rewriting, the study found that by mistranslating, supplementing and omitting, on one hand the arrogant images of westerners in China are shown more clearly. On the other hand, the life the poorest people lead in China become more miserable. Thus Maugham's criticism on Western colonizers and his sympathy for poor Chinese people are emphasized. And through domestication, the depth and characteristics of Chinese culture such as ancient buildings and memorial ceremonies are better presented, from which Maugham's interest in and admiration for Chinese culture are emphasized.Overall, the creative treason of Chen's translation deepens the image of Maugham as an anti-colonist.