| As research on the translation of Chinese literature into English deepens,more and more scholars are no longer limited to studying the literariness of translated works,but are beginning to focus more on their role in the construction of China’s image.Dee Gong An is a detective novel translated and published by Dutch sinologist Robert Hans van Gulik in the 1950s,and its prototype and main content come from the late Qing dynasty case-solving novel Dee Gong An.Once published,it caused a strong reaction in the Western world and became an important window for Western audiences to understand the Chinese people,Chinese literature,and the image of China.In the process of translating Dee Gong An,van Gulik conducted in-depth and meticulous research on various aspects of China,including culture,politics,customs,military affairs,diplomacy,judicial system,commerce,education,religion,and social life.He also manipulated and rewrote the content to some extent.In response to this rewriting,this thesis raises two research questions:how did van Gulik carry out this rewriting in the translation process,and what kind of image of China did his rewriting construct?To answer these questions,this thesis takes the translator’s subjectivity as the starting point and comprehensively uses text analysis and sociological research methods to conduct in-depth research on van Gulik and his Dee Gong An.It is found that van Gulik lived in China for many years,loved Chinese culture,and had a deep emotional connection to China.Therefore,he hoped to deepen Western audiences’ understanding of China and correct their prejudices and misunderstandings about China through the translation of Dee Gong An.To achieve this goal,he made certain rewriting to the text in the translation process to eliminate many elements that damaged China’s image.Through this rewriting,van Gulik created a realistic,positive,and optimistic image of China,which,with the popularity of the work in the Western world,effectively changed Western audiences’ stereotypical impressions of China.Van Gulik’s creative rewriting of Dee Gong An has important enlightening significance for current Chinese literature "going global" and deserves further in-depth research. |
