A Comparative Study Of The English Translation Activities Of The Selected Works Of Mao Tse-tung And Xi Jinping:The Governance Of China From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

The English translation of CPC Central Committee Literature,the most representative translation for international publicity in China,is of great importance to the construction of China’s international discourse system.Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping are the core leaders of New China in different times,and their works have similarities and differences.The translation activities of The Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung and Xi Jinping: The Governance of China（hereinafter referred to as “SWM” and “XJPGC”）were conducted in different historical backgrounds,so they have distinctive characteristics of the times.These works,the crystallization of the collective wisdom of Chinese Communist Party（hereinafter referred to as “CPC”）,are the major parts of Chinese political discourse to be translated.Political document translation activities in different periods in China should be investigated so as to inspire contemporary international publicity.From the perspective of Manipulation Theory,the English translation activities of SWM and XJPGC at the ideological,poetics and patronage levels are explored by comparison and case study.This study intends to investigate and summarize their different characteristics and then puts forward some suggestions to enlighten the international publicity translation of political documents in the new era.The results of this study show that:（1）SWM and XJPGC have two levels of patronage.The government-patron and the publisher-patron act together to exert their power on such steps as initiating translation,selecting translators,organizing translation and publication.（2）In the process of political document translation,especially theoretical works translation,organized by the authorities,the translator’s personal ideology conforms to the mainstream ideology.The translation activities of SWM and XJPGC are both controlled by the mainstream ideology of their specific periods.In the English translation of SWM,the manipulation from political ideology is obvious.Translators strive to be close to the original texts in both content and form.In the English translation of XJPGC,however,translators,who are affected by the ideology of “national rejuvenation”,tend to convey the core spirit of the original text in concise language.（3）International publicity translation in China mostly reflects the social mainstream ideology and poetics of the source culture,but poetics of the target culture should not be ignored.The English translation of SWM is greatly influenced by the mainstream ideology and poetics of the source culture,and translators mainly adopt foreignization to retain the language styles and cultural connotations of the original texts.In the English translation of XJPGC,foreignization and domestication are both adopted.Translators are not only faithful to the original content,but also consider the reception psychology of target readers.（4）The translation strategies for Chinese political documents have changed from being foreignization-oriented to diversified.Due to the special historical background,translators of SWM,who adhere to the primary principle of being faithful to the original text,basically adopt the strategy of foreignization.The English translation of XJPGC,however,reflects that translators have stronger subjective initiatives and the translation is more flexible.A variety of translation strategies are used on the premise of faithfully conveying the core ideas of the original texts so as to minimize the reading obstacles of target readers.This research deepens our understanding of the political document translation for international publicity in the new era,and enlightens relevant translation theory and practice.