The Translation And Reception Of The Myth Of Medusa In China

Medusa originated from the Greek Mythology,where she was born as a horrifying head,a serpent-haired monster,and a punished maiden.She was also depicted as a phantom deterring the dead in the netherworld.The evolutionary development of the image of Medusa granted her the meaning of death,danger,rebellion,cupidity and so on.The myth of Medusa was translated into Chinese in the early 1910 s,and the versions of translation thereafter flourished,among which Chen Tianda’s,Huang Jiayin’s,Zhou Qiming’s,and Chu Tunan’s edition stood out.Despite some of them were less studied,yet all of them conveyed the cultural contexts and translator’s styles respectively.The introduction of the myth,represented by Zhou Zuoren,Ren Fengge,and Wang Weichang’s works,also influenced the reception of the myth in China,and the study of the introduction of Greek myths in the 1980 s still have much room to explore.The reception of the myth of Medusa in China can not merely be perceived in the adaptation of the myth,but in the literary works as well.Medusa was employed by Chinese fantasy novels and science fictions since 1999 to probe into social issues and technological ethics.The reshaped Medusa in popular literature reflected the reception of the Gorgon among Chinese readers and the influence of Western culture.Yet study of these popular novels focuses mainly on the writers’ intentions,and the influence of the myth is left to investigate.The mutual connection of snakes and females in both Chinese literature and Greek myths also boosted the reception of Medusa in China.The audience’s preference led to the creation in Medusa’s image in Chinese literary works.Sang Ke’s poem,for instance,linked Medusa with the mirror in A Dream of Red Mansions to relish the female character.By investigating the cultural contexts of the translation,the interpretation of the translators and the introductions,the adaptations,and literary works,influences of the mythical figure on Chinese fantasy novels and science fiction can be revealed.