A Narratological Study Of Wang Anyi's Changhenge In English Translation

Initially published in 1995,Changhenge(???)has been generally acclaimed as Wang Anyi's fictional masterpiece.Spanning some 40 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China,the novel recounts the history of Shanghai by detailing the vicissitudes of a Shanghai lady--Wang Qiyao.A portrayal of“marginal characters and macro-history”creates the unique language style of Wang Anyi and her novel is noted for its exquisite but lengthy language,frequently changing point of view and often ambiguous speech presentation.In 2008,the English translation of the novel entitled The Song of Everlasting Sorrow was brought out by Columbia University Press through the cooperative efforts of Michael Berry and Susan Chan Egan.The present thesis aims to examine the translation strategies employed by Michael Berry in rendering Part 1 and Part 3(translated by Michael Berry)of the original text from a narratological perspective.Specifically,it will apply several narratological concepts to analyze Michael Berry's translation strategies employed to deal with shift into figural narrative situation and the blend of indirect speech and free direct speech.It will also analyze Michael Berry's translatorial habitus and how it might have influenced his narrative translation strategies.The thesis conducts both quantitative and textual analysis of the Chinese and English texts to find out the basic translation strategies employed by Michael Berry in handling certain narrative items.Cases of narrative phrases with shift into figural narrative situation and the blend of indirect speech and free direct speech in Part 1 and Part 3 are collected manually and analyzed statistically.Language signs indicating shift into figural narrative situation are classified into four types: time and spatial deixis,words implying distance from the character,modal expression and emotional words.The results of the statistical analysis reveal that Michael Berry is inclined to retain the original figural narrative situation in the four language forms with a percentage about 72.7%.Then the author examines the translation of speechpresentation in the light of Shen Dan's theory of blend between indirect speech and free direct speech.It is found that Michael Berry tends to render the culture-specific speech presentation into indirect speech(89%)and occasionally alters it into free direct speech in italics(11%).It is concluded that his basic narrative translation strategies are marked by an overall leaning towards adequacy by which the original narrative style is adequately reproduced in the English version,though simultaneously he also gives proper attention to acceptability to guarantee a smooth reading.Michael Berry's professional habitus has influenced his selection of original texts for translation and his preferred translation strategies.As a cinema specialist,Michael Berry is inclined to select literary works adaptable into film for translation.That is an important reason why he chose to translate Wang Anyi's Changhenge,which had been made into a film in 2005.As a scholar of modern Chinese literature and culture,Michael Berry has developed his translatorial habitus through years of translation practice.That is mainly embodied in his scholarly approach to literary translation,including being faithful to the original text,both content and style,leaning towards adequacy by retaining the original narrative style wherever possible,and striving to balance the adequacy and acceptability of the English text.Michael Berry's flexible and masterful translation of Changhenge makes it easy for Western readers to approach and enjoy Wang Anyi's novel.Meanwhile,he has endeavored to retain the narrative style and features of the Chinese original.Therefore,it is highly likely that Wang Anyi's novel has been consumed by Anglophone readers for its literary merit,not as political critique or a sociological document.