A Study On The Annotations Of The English Translation Of Strange Stories From A Chinese Studi

The English translation of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio has a long history,which can be traced back to 1842 when Samuel Wells Williams and Karl Friedrich August Gutzlaff respectively selected some articles in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio to English.After that,American scholar Sidney L.Sondergard completed the complete translation of Strange Tales from Liaozhai in 2014,and the English translation of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio has been basically completed.On the whole,scholars at home and abroad have started to study the English translation annotation of Strange Stories from A Strange Studio,but in terms of content and methods,there is a lack of systematic analysis and all-round depth,which needs to be supplemented.On the basis of a detailed analysis and interpretation of the five translations of William Frederick Mayers’ s translation,Herbert Allen Giles’ s translation,Yang Xianyi’s translation,Denis C.Mair and Victor H.Mair’s translation,and John Minford’s translation,this paper clarifies the content and characteristics of the notes.Then,it adopts Paratext Theory to investigate the factors that affect the English translation note,including the cultural identity of the translator and the value recognition contained in the note,and judge the degree of the translator’s subjectivity through the paratext.At last,it explores the reference and dissemination of traditional Chinese note and commentary forms and contents reflected in English translation notes,as well as the depiction and retention of Chinese culture,and finally summarizes the significance of notes for text communication activities.