A Study Of The Three-body Problem From The Perspective Of Medio-translatology

The Three-Body Problem is a representative of Chinese multiple-award winning science fiction author Liu Cixin.This fiction tells a story about the extraterrestrial attack of the earth as a result of an accidental interstellar touch during the Cultural Revolution.Once published,it has been widely applauded by readers and is therefore recognized as the best science fiction in China.When introduced to the west by Chinese-American science fiction writer and translator Ken Liu in 2014,it has gained widespread popularity among the western readers,which has successfully evaluated Chinese science fiction as world-class level.Among the Chinese literary works translated into English,few of them have achieved the same popularity as The Three-Body Problem.Therefore,its phenomenal success deserves further investigation.Chinese literature "going out" is not simply an act of translation,there exist the problems of exchange,communication,influence and reception,which are determined by a variety of factors such as social ideology,readers'expectation,translation sponsors and so on.To study the success of the translated version,The Three-Body Problem,in the west,both the transference of languages and the smooth communication should be taken into consideration.So this thesis attempts to make a thorough analysis of the translation and communication of The Three-Body Problem from the perspective of medio-translatology,exploring the fundamental elements that contribute to its successful entry into the target culture.According to Xie Tianzhen,the study of medio-translatology is not a language study,but a literary or cultural study.The unique value and significance of translation(mostly literary translation)is a practice of cross-cultural communication between humans.Harold Lasswell's communication model,regarded as "one of the earliest and most influential communication models",concludes that any act of communication contains five basic elements:Who,Says What,In Which Channel,To Whom,With What Effect.Being an act of communication in its nature,the elements influencing the translation of literature include translation subject,translation contents,translation channel,translation audience,and translation effect.This thesis analyzes the five links in the process of translation and communication of The Three-Body Problem so as to find out its key to the entry of western market.The project of Chinese literature "going out" demands the cooperation between overseas Chinese and Sinologists translators,coupled with the assistance of Chinese native literary scholars.As for the selection of translation content,a combination of global value and cultural characteristics is appreciated.As for the translation and communication channel of Chinese literature,we should strengthen the cooperation between Chinese and foreign mainstream publishers,make full use of mass media overseas,and utilize international promoting platforms appropriately.In terms of translation audience,the translation of Chinese literature should be audience-centered,meet the expectation of target audience,and conform to the mainstream ideology and poetics in target culture.As for the last link in the process of translation and communication,the translation effect of Chinese literature should be the starting point and objective of translation activities.The project of "out-going" translation should attach great importance to translation effect and establish a feedback mechanism.Only by improving every element in the translation and communication process can Chinese literature find an effective way "going out".