A Study Of The English Translation Of Fortress Besieged From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

“Thick translation” is a kind of method of placing texts in a rich cultural and linguistic environment through annotations,commentary,etc.,thereby the characteristics of the source language culture are preserved and the source language culture is given a fuller understanding and deeper respect from the target language culture.(Appiah,2000)The translator mainly puts the target readers into a rich historical and cultural environment by means of specific translation methods of writing the translator's introduction,adding cultural annotations and endnotes after the text,showing the original author's writing style and helping the reader to better understand the translated text.The English version Fortress Besieged was translated by Jenny Kelly,an American sinologist translator,and Nathan K.Mao,an American Chinese.In 2005,the English version Fortress Besieged became one of the literary models in the English-speaking world and the first Chinese novel of Penguin Library.The English translation of Wei-ch'eng uses thick translation method obviously.By comparing Wei-ch'eng and its English version Fortress Besieged,the thesis summarizes the following three forms of thick translation in the English version: the translator's preface and introduction,in-text additions and additional endnotes.Through thick translation,translators show the Chinese language and cultural phenomenon in the English version Fortress Besieged for the target readers.On the one hand,this thesis analyzes and describes the thick translation phenomenon and reasons in the English version Fortress Besieged.On the other hand,in the specific process of describing the translator's thick translation in the English version Fortress Besieged,this thesis proves the use value and the rationality of the thick translation strategy.It is also expected that the author's thick translation study of the English version Fortress Besieged could provide a new explanation and enlightenment for further translation studies and promote the future translation of Chinese literary works.