| The paper focuses on the translator’s subjectivity in the Chinese translations of The Joy Luck Club. The translator’s subjectivity experienced a process of being neglected and now has been recognized. The transitional status of the translator, from being a faithful translator to showing subjectivity, provides a new perspective to literature translation review. In the last years of 1980s and the first years of 1990s, Chinese American Literature has come to its blossom. And then researches on this field have been attracting scholars from America and China as well. Due to the unique themes and the authors’special position of Chinese American Literature, readers not only feel the similarity between two nations and cultures but also sense the conflict and communication between American values and Chinese ones. Translation of Chinese American Literature is a certain cultural translation in some degree. While the translators of literary works, the only link between the original works and the translated works, between the writer and the readers, show their subjectivity inevitably.The Joy Luck Club, a representative work of Amy Tan, describes the conflicts, misunderstanding and understanding among four immigrant mothers and their America-born daughters. Conflicts among mothers and daughters reflect conflicts between American culture and Chinese culture. The exotic descriptions of mothers’early life in China and life style of Chinese Americans contribute to the extraordinary success of The Joy Luck Club in 1989. In the China’s mainland, Chunfeng Art Press published the Chinese version of The Joy Luck Club translated by Tian Qing in 1992. In 2006, the writer Cheng Naishan was invited by Shanghai Yiwen Press to publish the newest version of The Joy Luck Club.The paper intends to do a comparative research on the two versions of The Joy Luck Club and dig out typical examples to illustrate the translator’s subjectivity. The research will be carried out on the aspects of translation methods, restoration of culture and translation strategy. And different translations of subtitles, names, pinyin, dialogue, Chinese culture, edited translation, abridged translation and adapted translation as well as the errors made by the translators are included, by which, the balance of the translator’s subjectivity and fidelity based on the original works is emphasized in literary translation. The translator’s subjectivity doesn’t conflict with fidelity of the source language, while subjectivity should function with the source language as the first constraint. At last, the paper appeals to more objective criticism of the literary works with the translator’s subjectivity involved in it, and expects better and more translations of Chinese American Literature works. |
