A Study Of The Two Chinese Translations Of Ulysses Based On The Theory Of Bourdieu's Sociology Of Culture

Ulysses is the outstanding modern stream of consciousness novel written by the Irish writer James Joyce.It is full of experimentation and creativity and acclaimed as the greatest work of English literature in the 20th century.This masterpiece is widely regarded as the book of heaven.These two full Chinese versions were finished respectively by Jin Di,Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo.Their translations turn out to be remarkable successes,both fill the gap in cultural exchange between China and foreign countries,catapult these translators into fame.It is twenty-four years since Ulysses were translated by Jin Di,Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo.Many scholars have made comparisons between two versions.However,literature review of the related studies reveal some deficiencies.Those problems include:studies are mainly based on the prescriptive translation studies confining to analyze the languages and texts,a lack of descriptive studies especially from the diachronic dimension in the study of three translators;pay much attention to translators' subjectivity,such as their translation strategies,translation methods or thoughts,instead of discussing how the sociological factors influence the production process of the translations,the reception results including translation field,poetics,ideology,patronage,etc.In view of the above deficiencies,based on Bourdieu's sociological concepts "field","capital","habitus",this thesis makes a comparison of two Chinese versions of Ulysses translated by Jin Di,Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo,probing into the social-driven factors behind the different versions in similar periods.It is found that different capitals and habitus possessed by translators within the related field have an influence on the selection of the original text,the production of the translation works,acceptance of the targeted text as well as the translators' translation strategies.By analyzing three translators' habitus and capitals,these findings indicate that translators' habitus have an influence on their translation strategies.Xiao Qian's spiritual translation meets the needs of the market and readers;Jin's version insists on his translation theory of equivalent effect and keeps on faithfulness to the original text;James Joyce and Ulysses,with their symbolic capital,play an important role in promoting the production and circulation of the two translations;Three translators' successes make the author and the original work widely known to Chinese readers.Moreover,James Joyce and Ulysses endow these three translators with the economic capital,social capital and symbolic capital;Xiao Qian's successful translation of Ulysses can be ascribed to the effective promotion of YiLin Press,which increases the social capital and symbolic capital of Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo.