The translator is one of the most dynamic factors in translation. As an independent thinking entity, she/he unavoidably shows her/his subjectivities in the translation process. Her/his motivation, purpose, strategies, methods and competence deeply influence the formation of the target text. The translator as an individual decides on how a specific translation is to be carried out. The translators as a whole play an important role in intercultural communication and facilitating the development of human culture. However, so far most researches on translators have only focused on her/his language competence, translation skills and functions in cultural communication, and scarce attention is paid to how the translator as a critical human factor that affects the translation process with his or her motivation, attitude, cultural orientation, value, prejudice, horizon, and translation purpose. In view of this, the current research has made an attempt to probe into the issue of how the translator involves herself/himself in translation process, the influences translation results. The main purpose of this research is to provide an overall description of the working mechanism of the translator in the translation process in order to facilitate the understanding of the nature of translation.
Prof. Zhang’s prose translation boasts of fluency and literary talent, fully displaying his translation ideas. Nowadays, there have been few people conducting a study on his translated works. This thesis intend to investigate the translator’s role in the dynamic process of translation taking his prose translation of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings as a case study and examining that the process of translation is one in which the translator’s subjectivity is given full play. The discussion focuses on two levels-the macro level and the micro level. The former refers to the factors beyond translation, which include the selection of source text, translation purpose, the selection of translation methods and so on. The latter focuses on the stage of understanding and expressing of translation which includes lexical, syntactical, rhetorical level and so on. It is not very usual that Prof. Zhang Peiji adds some notes at the end of each prose.
The author of this thesis tries to analyze Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from the perspective of the translator’s subjectivity. We can see the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity in the understanding and expressing stages in translating activity. The translator sets his subjectivity in full motion in the translating process and achieves the maximum fusion of horizons among the original author; the translator and the target reader. Translation is a complex action which is designed to achieve a purpose. It claims that the intended aim of the translator is one of the decisive factors of the final linguistic form and the layout of the target text. Each translator has his own intention of translation which in turn influences his choice of means of translation and his attitude in translating.
Keywords: Translator’s subjectivity; Translation strategy; Zhang Peiji; Modern Chinese Prose CONTENTS
CHAPTER Ⅰ INTRODOCTION 1.1 Origin of the Study
1.2 Significance of the Study 1.3 Layout of the Thesis
CHAPTER Ⅱ THEORETICAL BASES 2.1 Hermeneutics
2.2 Aesthetics of Reception
2.2.1 Horizon of Expectations 2.2.2 Fusion of Horizons 2.3 Translator’s Subjectivity
2.3.1 Connotation and Manifestation of Translator’s Subjectivity 2.3.2 Translator’s Subjectivity in the Translation Process 2.3.3 Cultural Awareness
2.3.4 Intertextual Relationship 2.3.5 Intersubectivity
2.4 Necessity of Translator’s Subjectivity 2.4.1 Objective Existence
2.4.2 Subjectivity and Faithfulness as the Unity of Opposite 2.4.3 Predictive Power of Potential Readers 2.4.4 Ability to Express the Target Language
CHARPTER Ⅲ ZHANG PEIJI AND HIS TRANSLATION OF MODERN CHINESEⅢ PROSE 3.1 A Brief Introduction of Zhang Peiji’s Life Story 3.2 Zhang Peiji’s Prose Translation 3.2.1 Definition of Prose
3.2.2 Stylistic Comparison between English and Chinese Prose 3.3 Significance of Zhang Peiji’s Prose Translation 3.4 Zhang Peiji’s Language Characteristics
CHARPTER Ⅳ MANIFESTATION OF TRANSLATOR’S SUBJECTIVITY IN ZHANG PEIJI’S TRANSLATION OF MODERN CHINESE PROSE
4.1 Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Macro Level 4.1.1 Choice of Source Texts 4.1.2 Purpose of Translation
4.1.3 Selection of Translation Strategies 4.1.4 Translation Criteria of Prof. Zhang Peiji
4.2 Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Micro Level
4.2.1 Flexibility of Sentence Structure in “Sight of the Father’s Back” 4.2.2 Appropriateness of Word Choice 4.2.3 Syntactic Rhetoric 4.2.4 Sound Beauty 4.2.5 Cultural Elements 4.2.6 Notes
4.2.7 Application of Translation Strategy CHAPTER ⅴ CONCLUSION 5.1 Major Findings
5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study CHAPTER Ⅰ INTRODUCTION
1.1 Origin of the Study
China is a great country of translation and many great translators shine in the devotion to translation during these 2000 years. Presently, we should make a deeper understanding of
translator’s practical experiences theories which will not only be helpful to promote the construction of translation theories but will contribute to the flourish of Chinese culture. Prof. Zhang Peiji as a distinguished translator in China has been devoting to the translation to Chinese to English for more than 50 years, and has made a great contribution to translation and cultural exchange.
However, up to now, what has been done is for the limited researches on his prose translation. He as an eminently distinguished translator has been listed into the Dictionary of Chinese Translators owning to his great contribution to translation. He is widely known for his compiled book of A Course of English-Chinese Translation among most Chinese students. The book has been reprinted more than 32 times since its first edition since 1980. In recent years, he has translated many articles for the column of Chinese-English Translation Practice in Chinese Translators Journal. Many readers benefit a lot from Zhang Peiji’s classical translation. Zhang Peiji has collected the classical prose printed as a new book of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings in 1999. It is helpful to introduce Chinese thoughts and ideas to foreigners effectively. In 2003, his new achievement-Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings came out. He never stops pursuing the introduction of Chinese thoughts and ideas of foreigners.
Essay is an important literary genre which, together with poetry, fiction and drama, has a history of several thousand years. Ever since the ancient times, essays have been playing an indispensable part in the history of literature, either in the west or in China. “Modern Chinese essays” refers to the essays after the introduction of vernacular Chinese, or after the “May Fourth Movement”, during which period a great number of outstanding essayists welled up with a variety of excellent essays, which has exerted great influence on the modern Chinese literature. Scholars from home and abroad have done some research on the translation of modern Chinese essays. For example, Zhu Yige (2003) analyzes the representation of beauty of form, content and style in essay translation from the aesthetic perspective. Yu Yuanling (2004) explores the ways in which Zhang Peiji attempts to preserve the style the original in his translation. Yang Yamin (2007) discusses the translatability of the style of modern Chinese essays and how the original style of essays in Selected Modern Chinese Essays is reproduced by Zhang Peiji. In spite of this, so far the research on the translation of modern Chinese essays is found, and very few M.A or PhD theses centre on this theme and say nothing of the research on the translation of modern Chinese essays from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. Therefore, it is safe to say that the research on essay translation has long been lagged behind the research on the translation of other literary genres.
1.2 Significance of the Study
As is well known, China boasts a long history of the production of essays and great achievements have been made during this period, especially after the “May Fifth Movement” when modern Chinese essays began to make their appearance and eventually take shape. However, the research on the translation of modern Chinese essays is far from enough, Zhang Peiji as a renowned translator has made a lot of contribution to the practice of essay translation. The essays he translated, mainly the modern Chinese essays, are of a rather high quality and standard. The three volumes of Selected Modern Chinese Essays translated by him have been well received by readers and scholars, and are therefore worth further research due to the good reference and guidance for the translation of modern Chinese essays.
From the above aspects, Zhang Peiji as such a famous translator deserves the study. He prefers to
translate Chinese literature. A common viewpoint in translation goes that Chinese can only do English to Chines translation, and only native speakers of English can do Chinese to English translation well. Prof, Zhang believes that foreigners have priority over translation from Chinese into English, but they don’t have sufficient understanding of Chinese culture. He thinks that Chinese having good command of English can also do well in translating Chinese literature into English and his practice fully proves it. Among his achievements, the book Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings is widely seen as his classic. Obviously, his art and skills of prose translation are high lightened in his book; at the same time, prose translation should be stressed comparing with poem, novel and drama in literary works.
However, there have few people engaging in the conduction of study on Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation, only a few scholars in the translation circle wrote a limited number of papers on his translation style or analyzed some prose of the book, and others only mentioned some points or examples of his translated works.
Recently, with the emergence of new approaches to translation studies, translator’s subjectivity was gradually brought into sight and gained more attention in translation. Translation is studied from a dynamic, functional and communicative perspective. And therefore the subjectivity of the translator is paid more attention. On the basis of two volumes of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings, the author of this thesis would like to make a tentative approach to Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from a new perspective----the translator’s subjectivity. After all, it will be helpful to strengthen our theoretical construction in translation with a deeper insight of translator’s working experiences and theories helping to contribute to the flourish of Chinese culture. It is hoped that present study may throw some fresh insight into the theoretical study and practical work of the translation of modern Chinese essays. 1.3 Layout of the Thesis
The thesis is made up of five chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction of the thesis describing the research origin, significance and the layout of the thesis. The second chapter reviews the development of translator’s subjectivity in translation as well as the related theory. In the third chapter, the author introduces the prose translator Zhang Peiji, and his translation views. Chapter four is the main body of the thesis giving a detailed analysis about the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity in Zhang Peiji’s prose translation which involves two aspects of the macro and micro level. The last chapter is the conclusion of the whole thesis including the major findings of the study, limitations of the study and suggestions for further study.
CHARTER Ⅱ
THEORETICAL BASES
For the purpose of expounding translators’ subjectivity in literary translation, it is essential for us to review the relevant theories, which in this thesis mainly involves Hermeneutics and the theory of Aesthetics of Reception. 2.1. Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is a philosophy branch concerning human understanding and the interpretation of written text. Hermeneutics has seen a long history of development. Etymologically, the term “hermeneutics” deriving from Greek means interpretation, clarification and translation. The traditional hermeneutics started with the interpretation of the Bible. Later, it stepped into methodological hermeneutics represented by Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) and Wilhelm Dilthery (1833-1991). Schleiermacher noticed that severe interpretation began with
misunderstanding. Dilthery strengthened Schleiermacher’s idea and claimed that correctly interpreting a text meant conveying the original intention of the author who wrote it. However, both of them argued that there was only one definite and correct interpretation of the text.
Hermeneutics entered its modern period, marked by ontological hermeneutics practiced by Martin Heidegger (18-1976 who put forward the concept of “forestructure” and hold that all interpretations must begin with mental structure, which the interpreter brings to the object being interpreted. At the beginning of the 1960s, a more systematic modern philosophical hermeneutics was brought into existence by Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-), one of the most important contemporary representatives of hermeneutics, who published his magnum opus Truth and Method in 1960. The book has generally been recognized as the index of the establishment of modern philosophical hermeneutics. The basic proposition of Gadamer’s hermeneutics is that an individual with a comprehensive mind always starts his understanding with a certain prejudice; even a historian cannot comprehend the history by making himself an individual living in the past time; his present and historical factors would constantly join in the hermeneutic activity and influence the understanding itself (Zhu Di, 1994:250). Gadamer sees art as a non-cognitive and historical activity of understanding, and regards the existence of a work as a historical process in which it unfolds itself boundlessly to the future (Zhu Liyuan, 1997:273). To him, understanding is the interaction between the subject and object in the communication of the present and the past; interpretation is not the passive duplication of the text but a “productive” effort, which gradually reveals the truths of the text in the interaction between the subject’s “legitimate prejudices” and the object. Gadamer emphasizes the dynamic role of readers and holds that the meaning of the work of art is just the sum total of all interpretations undertaken by different readers on different conditions at different times; as far as understanding is concerned, the meaning of a work is inexhaustible (Jiang Kongyang, 1988: 460-461).
However different they are, Hermeneutics lay due stress on the historical background of the interpreter, which opens a new way to examine translation. The process of translation can be explained by the Hermeneutic notion. Translators first act as receptors and naturally savor the source text from their own perceptions. Then they render a literary text into the target language according to their own comprehension of the text. Last their end products will be interpreted by readers in the target culture. In this sense, to read a translated text is to interpret what has been interpreted by translators. In the process of interpretation the translation inevitably carries the translator’s subjective color; accordingly it gives rise to various stylized versions of a single source text.
2.2 Aesthetics of Reception
Theoretically speaking, Aesthetics of Reception developed out of phenomenology hermeneutics and can be thought of as the latest development of Hermeneutics. It was established by the German Constance School cities during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and soon swept across the whole European and American literature circle. Its main representatives are five professors of the Constance School, among whom Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser are the two most original theorists. The main perspectives of the Aesthetics of Reception was expounded comprehensively for the first time in the lecture delivered by Jauss I 1967, with the well-known revised title as “Literary History as a Provocation to Literary Scholarship”.
This lecture has generally been recognized as the birth of the aesthetics of reception. Based upon hermeneutics and particularly influenced by Gadamer, Jauss advocates a novel approach to
literary history. He proclaims that such an approach can only be efficient in depicting a process when the interaction between text and reader is taken into account, thereby excluding the reception of literary work. The name Jauss gave to the innovative approach was Aesthetics of Reception, which can be understood as a part of the shift in the study of literature from a preoccupation with authors and texts to a concern for reception and reading. To him, the central task of the aesthetics of reception should unite the textual reception history with the reader’s present aesthetic experiences. He maintains that the understanding of the first reader should not be lost or neglected by later readers, but rather sustained and enriched in a chain that stretches from initial reception to subsequent generations.
Therefore, past meanings are the integral parts of present practices, and the reception of the individual work across time is part of a larger process and coherence of literature. Iser has been concerned primarily with the phenomenological analysis of the response mechanism for reading in the individual text. He also concerns how readers relate to the text. The Aesthetics of Reception also regards the reader’s reception as an underlying factor of the literary evolution of a text in its meaning and the innate driving force of a text. Jauss and Iser draw attention away from the author and the text and focus on the relationship between text and reader. By examining the process in which the social effect of literary work is achieved, they revealed the dialectical relationship between the author, the works and the reader, particularly the reader’s dynamic role in reception. They have both succeeded in expounding how some phenomena take place with the change of reader’s reception consciousness. Their research broadened our field of vision and enriched the content and categories of literary studies. Their theories have also been employed in other disciplined, and a case in point is their application to the activity of translation.
According to principles of the Aesthetics of Reception, “Horizon of expectations” and “Fusion of Horizons” should be included in the translator’s consideration. 2.2.1 Horizon of Expectations
In his influential prose entitled Literary History as a Challenge to Literary Theory, Jauss singles out three ways in which a writer can anticipate a reader’s response, and they seem to represent his view of the components of the reader’s horizon of expectations, “First, by the familiar standards or the inherent poetry of the genre; second, by the implicit relationships to familiar work of the literary-historical context; and third, by the contrast between fiction and reality, between the poetic and the practical function of language…” (Rice & Waugh, 1994: 84). Jauss refers to “horizon of expectations” as readers’ mindset (Holub, 1985: 59); horizon of experience material; horizon of condition; horizon of expectations as a social contract. “Horizon constrains not only literary norms and values but also desires, demands, aspirations”, (Holub, 1984, 68). In this way, he describes the criteria that readers use to judge a literary work in any given period. With this term, a historical dimension was added to reader-oriented literary criticism by Jauss. Jauss holds that people have varied interpretations of a literary work in different historic periods. The original horizon of expectations only tells us how the work was first interpreted, but does not rule out the possibility of more interpretations. Jauss considered it equally wrong to say that works is universal and its meaning is fixed and the same to readers in any period.
Jauss argues that all interpretations of past literature arise from a dialogue between past and present. Now it is quite evident that literary works will arouse different interpretations from readers in different periods and we cannot impose the original evaluation of a work upon the following readers. Thus, in translation, in different historic backgrounds, a literary work may have
different translated versions due to translators’ different horizons of expectations. 2.2.2 Fusion of Horizons
Fusion of horizons is another central concept advanced by Gadamer, which is a key to the activity of understanding. Horizon refers to every person’s and every text’ s pre-determinacy and openness brought about by “fore-understanding” and “prejudice”. Gadamer argues that different historical situations lead to different horizons, and different individuals own different horizons which are not closed but open. An interpreter keeps interacting with a text in order to broaden his or her horizons and form new horizons. The fusion of horizons occurs between the past experiences embodied in the text and the interests of its present readers.
In order to achieve a better understanding of a text we need a fusion between the horizon of our world and the world of the text. This is a creative or dialectic fusion which produces a new meaning. “To understand does not mean primarily to reason one’s way back into the past, but to have a present involvement in what is said.” (Gadamer, 1979: 350). He represents a movement away from author-centered interpretation but there remains, however, a two-way process between text and interpreter in which the latter’s questions are informed by the former. According to him, “fusion of horizons” means that one intends to understand the text itself. But this also means that the interpreter’s own thoughts have gone into reawakening the text’s meaning. Jauss regards the text as one in an endless dialogue between the text and the reader, the past and the present. Therefore, the concept “fusion of horizon” can be viewed as union between the text and the horizon of expectations of present readers. In Jauss’s opinion, the original meaning of the source text could not be isolated from the history of its reception. This is quite true in the reception phase, when a translator reads the original works; he understands it through fusion of horizons. The specific historical and social background as well as his personal outlook affected his understanding.
Thus, understanding is a process of fusing one’s present horizons with a text’s past horizons, subsequently new horizons are produced. In this aspect the interpreter’s own horizon is decisive. Thus, the meaning of a literary work changes with time to the readers. Literary works can only bu understood in a limited perspective of the present. That is also one of the reasons why we have different versions for the same literary work in different historical periods. Translators with different horizons of expectations approach the work differently and come up with new versions to meet different people’s horizon of expectations. No wonder even for the same translator, one could work out different versions from the same original text.
Every translation is at the same time an interpretation. The translated work can be viewed as crystallized interpretation. Examination from the perspective of Hermeneutics and Aesthetic of Reception offers a way out for the predicament of translation studies. Both Modern Hermeneutics and Aesthetics of Reception speak favorably for the stress on the text’s openness and the importance of the role of the reader’s participation in reading, which endows translators with legitimacy of exerting their subjectivity. Thus, translator, as a reading and interpreting subject, is left much room to conduct the translation practice under his subjectivity. So translator’s subjectivity must be taken into consideration during the process of the translation. 2.3 Translator’s Subjectivity
Translator as an active provider and participant of generalization of the meaning cannot be excluded from the understanding in the dynamic process of interaction with the source text. Translator inescapably takes his/her own belief, knowledge; attitude into the processing of texts,
therefore any translation will mirror translator’s own individual background and personality to some extent.
In addition, translator being the doer practically operating two languages can make herself/himself in sight by permeating his personal linguistic personal linguistic preference between the lines if he/she bears persistent guidance of certain translation criterion and employs proper translation techniques by making best use of the target language. Thus translator’s subjectivity takes into shape with the help of the philosophical definition of subjectivity, and it is easier to make clear the definition of the translator’s subjectivity; translator is the subject of translation and the object of his activities is the original text. The task of translator is to translator is to translate the original text into the target language from the source language by making best use of his subjectivity in a dynamic way and determining her/his translation purpose, what strategies to be adopted, how to treat the text and other issues in the process of translation.
However, the subjective awareness of translator is projected on object-the original text, which will be constrained by the original text. In addition to the original text, the static factors in translator’s subjectivity include the characteristics of two different languages and cultures; objective laws of language transformation and the aesthetic perception of the source language and the target language transformation and the aesthetic perception of the source language and the target language; the times the translator is in and the translation theories at that time. The static factors suggest that the subjectivity of the translator cannot go as far as what translator wants, which distinguishes serious translation from irresponsible translation (Zha Mingjian, 2003:22)
In conclusion, translator’s subjectivity means her/his subjective initiative or agency reflected in the translation activity while translator as the subject tries to achieve his translation purpose on the basis of respect for the involved object. The basic characteristics entail the translator’s cultural awareness, human qualities and his cultural and aesthetic creativity. The subjectivity of translator seeps through the whole stages of translation which is displayed in the translator’s choice of the original text, her/his understanding and interpreting of the original text; his/her understanding of the original writer and the target reader; the source culture and the target culture; his/her creation of the translated text; translation strategies and his/her purpose of translation etc.
2.3.1 Connection and Manifestation of Translator’s Subjectivity
“Who translate? Who is the subject of translation? Is the translator allowed to be a subject and to have subjectivity?” (Robinson, 2001:3). Of the three parties involved in the operation of translation, namely, the author, the translator and the reader, which one should be regarded as the subject of translation, and on whom the subjectivity rests? No consensus has been reached yet in the translation circle. Actually, there are some discrepancies regarding to this question. Translator subjectivity involves translation subjectivity and translator subjectivity. OF the two concepts, translator is the subject, and therefore, translation subjectivity should refer to translator’s subjectivity in the research community of translation. If “translation” of the translation subjectivity refers to the translation of act itself, the subject of the translation activity is undoubtedly the translator, while source text, source author, and the target reader are the objects of translation practical activity----source text is the research object needed for the understanding, interpretation and recreation of translator, and the reader is the purpose object of the translator’s translation activity. If this is the understanding of translation, translation
subjectivity is translator’s subjectivity. If translation of the translation subjectivity refers to all the relevant factors of translation in which there are still two subjects of the original author and reader in addition to the translator.
So the subjectivity of translation is the intersubjectivity between the translator, source text author and reader. Then what is subjectivity? Subjectivity is the essential characteristic of the subject which presents itself in the objective activity of the object, to be specific, subjectivity is the materialization of the subject’s natural power in its objective activity during which the subject changes, influences and controls the object initiatively and makes the object serve the subject. (Yang Chaoyan, 2006:4) subjectivity include purpose, autonomy, initiative and creativity etc, in one word, subjective initiative.
However, the subjective initiative to be constrained, the activity of the subject acting on the object is bound to be counterproductive; and the initiative performance is also subject ot objective conditions.
Therefore, the subjectivity also includes passivity, and passivity as the foundation of the initiative is an objective basis for the initiative play of the subject which is the performance of human dependence on the object and the constraints of the object against human. The other characteristic of subjectivity is for my resistance, reflecting the purpose and direction of the initiative play. This shows that subjectivity includes initiative, passivity and for my resistance. Zha Mingjian and Tian Yu (2003) define the term as follows:
The translator’s subjectivity refers to the subjective initiative displayed by the translator to realize his/her translation purpose as a translation subject on the premise of respecting translation object. Its essential features are his/her obvious cultural awareness; personality; a style; cultural and aesthetic creation.
Subjectivity of the translator reflects not only in understanding, interpretation and language arts of the translator on the source text on the conversion level of re-creation, but also reflects in the text selection, translation cultural purposes, translation strategies and the manipulation of the expected cultural effects in the translation prefaces and so on. The following will discuss the manifestation of the subjectivity from the four aspects of translation process, cultural awareness of human language translation; translation and the original; the Intertextual relationship between human philology.
2.3.2 Translator’s Subjectivity in the Translation Process
“Acting as a receptor of his author’s message, the translator makes judgments about him and his purpose of speaking. Then in casing himself as the author, the translator takes on his authority and responsibility for assessment of the message and reader. Then he discharges these responsibilities on author’s terms as desirable, but far from inevitable” (Kelly, 1979: 68). Actually, subjectivity is embodied in the whole process.
Specific translation process is an important part of translation which is also the performance of translator in the most significant level. The literary translation, for example, the translator needs to show at least three kinds of literary identity in the process of translation----the reader, interpreter and author re-creator of literature. Firstly, as a reader, the translator needs to mobilize their own feelings and will to activate the imagination and aesthetic force and specify and “not fixed”, “blank spots” in the whole structure of translation, adjusting their own “first structure” and achieving the fusion of horizons so as achieve the full meaning of the text construction.
Secondly, interpreters and translators need to show a critical literary appreciation and literary ability to explore the ideological content of work and aesthetic significance, analyzing literary value and social significance of works. Stepping into the stage of the language conversion, the translator focuses on how to reproduce the original ideas and information, aesthetic and stylistic characteristics of the information and needs to mobilize the understanding the aesthetic perception of the works to readers, organically integrating into the language conversion. If the interpretation of works is a general activity, then in the transformation of the language, literary creativity of the translator is the most prominent. The translator conveys not only the basic information of the original content, but also the original aesthetic implications. “Understanding is not a process of duplication but of creation, and it is safe to say that as long as man is the doer of understanding, there exist different interpretations.” (Xia Zhenping, 1994; 280). The more outstanding the literary works is, the richer its aesthetic information and cultural implication are, the harder the task of the translation is, and therefore, translators need to be more creative. Translator subjectivity embodying in the translation process is the most obvious; it is also currently the most frequently discussed issue in translation research community in terms of the translator subjectivity. However, the process of translation is not the entire contents of research of translator subjectivity. The performance of translator subjectivity can still be inspected from other aspects.
2.3.3 Cultural Awareness
“For my resistance” of the translator subjectivity is the “Teleological” of the translation in theoretical statements. “Teleological” holds that translation is an act, since any action has a certain purpose, then the translation has its purpose, “Teleological” inspires us to further understand the translation from a cultural perspective: for any translation is a cultural purpose. Translators decide to choose its translation and translation strategies according to their own awareness of cultural needs of target language.
Translation is a contingency meeting of two cultures; the process of translation is the process of consultations of two cultures, while the translator is the intermediary of two cultures. But this does not meant that the translator is a neutral of cultural value. The translator’s cultural orientation will inevitably be reflected in their own ways of translation selection. This may be the mainstream cultural identity of the target language by strengthening the existing ideological and literary translation views or negative of the existing through the translation to overturn the current literary modes of culture, so as to achieve the purpose of change. Either identity or reactionary of the target language culture is the cultural awareness of the translator who translates the performance of language either explicitly or implicitly reflecting in the translation the translator’s cultural values. The reader’s consciousness is the cultural awareness of the translator for the target language. “Reader” plays a very important significant role in an aesthetic theory. A concept of intended reader was proposed, similar to the concept of the implied reader. Acceptance is an integral part of their work, each form of literature is out of their awareness of potential readers, and all contain the image of people whom he writes for----each gesture in the works is implicitly suggesting its expected recipient. Since translation is a creative job, then the translator has his/her “intended readers” and “implied readers”. In order to fully realize the value of their translation and make it play a specific role in the local cultural context, the translator has to be concerned about the “horizon of expectations” of his implied readers in the original selection process and translation so as to decide the relevant translation strategy.
“Horizon of expectations” of the readers includes three aspects: First, the translator selects the translation works according to the ideology of mainstream readers, and takes the appropriate translation way according to their ideology and reading fun; Second, the translator tries to subvert the dominant ideology through translation, then, the translation of the works may be far from the “expectation” of most readers, so translators need to take some of the translation strategies to guide the reader to accept, such as the translation of the Western Classics by Yan Fu using elegant classical in order to “attract” intended readers; Third, the target languages has been stirring the consciousness of a culturally literary change, but is still quite weak, the translator is keen to capture this new cultural information, selecting the translated works to provide support to the readers with consciousness of changes and develop more readers to be prepared for more cultural force of change, such as the social and cultural work of Chinese translations of western literature in the 1980s.
Lefevere pointed out that ideology; poetics and patronage are the three main forces of the manipulation of literary translation. All the factors constraining the literary translation in the diversity system of target language are often gathered to the translator who is the determiner of the cultural or aesthetic choice. The results of the decision are reflected in his choice of translation, translation strategies and the interpretation of the work etc. Therefore, leaving aside the cultural context of translation and the translation study of translator’s subjectivity, translation is often judged through the its value true or not; good or bad only in comparison to the level of words; its conclusions are often shallow or superficial, masking a deep cultural translation problems behind. The translation of the intentional misinterpretation about the subjectivity of the translator and the performance is dismissed as “bad translation”. On the contrary, those “in line with error translation of the internal logic of the translation” embody the responsible spirit and serious attitude of the translator, especially in the transition period of cultural literature, the purpose of translator’s intentional “mistranslation” is to close to the intended readers to win the translation recognition of the readers.
Therefore, the “creative treason” of translation is often the entering point of cultural awareness of the translator’s target language and the consciousness of the readers. 2.3.4 Intertextual Relationship
The source language enters into the target language can be seen from the relations between source text and target text, in addition to language transformation in to the target language, the source language is marked by the stigma of target language because of translator’s cultural awareness and values and is loaded with cultural atmosphere of the times of the target language, so translated works is no longer the foreign literary works with the original sense.
On the one hand, translation and the original have all sorts of links which are the continuation of life and derivatives; in the “totally unexpected frame of reference”; on the other hand, the translation is “late-life” independent of its own life and value and becomes the new works of the target language and have “a new literary exchange” with the new readers. Life of translated works is given by the translator. Translator can not only give the original to life, but also decide to show what kind of the original life is and how to make the original integrate into the literature of target language.
The subjectivity of translator determines the independent aesthetic character of the translated works and cultural characteristics of the target language. Translation and the original are not affiliation from the aspect of independent lives of translation, but the Intertextual relationship.
Translation also establishes the Intertextual relationship with the creative literary from the aspect of the impact of the translation in the target language. Intertextuality between the two not only fully shows the translator’s creativity, but embodies the importance of cultural awareness of Target Language Translator. Recognizing the independence of translation life, we can understand the “second” in the “Translation is the second creation” refers only to the order of production time work, but that does not mean the status of translated literature is lower than the original, nor does it mean that the translation of literary and cultural significance is less that the original. 2.3.5 Intersubjectivity
“Intersubjectivity” also known as “interactive subjectivity” refers to the interaction characteristics between the subjects and is an important part of human subjectivity. Subjectivity exists in the ways of intersubjectivity. Its essence is individual in nature, intersubjectivity is common among individuals.
From the point of Intersubjectivity theory, “translation” is the place among the main author and the translator, and also is the main way of interaction between the subjects. The original is their opportunity for dialogue, but also a platform for dialogue exchange. From the perspective of the dialogue, the original is the subject of dialogue between the original author and the translator; translation activity is their process of dialogue; translated works is the result of their conversation. It is from this sense that both the translator and the original author is the subject of translation; they have jointly completed the task of translation.
As a result, the relations between the author and the translator should not be the primary and secondary or master-servant, but the subject of equality between dialogue relationships. In this way, translation implies a kind of “polyphonic structure.” The translated version has both the author’s voice, but also occurs what the translator does not agree with the original author. The “creative treason” of translation is the different understanding according to the cultural context of the original author. It is precisely because of the existence of such translations in the polyphonic structure, and translation in the inner sense has the double meanings of its own:
First, the exchange significance of literature and culture; second, times cultural significance in the target language. If the main purpose of the translator is to introduce the works of foreign author or foreign culture, his dialogue with the author will adopt the attitude of agreement; the main point in the translation is the resonance of the sound. If the translators hold a specific purpose of target language to carry out the translation, the voice of translator in translation is stronger, and the polyphony characteristic is even more apparent.
Of course, this distinction is made in terms of the macro point of view, for a specific translation, both meanings and the two voices are often staggered and coexisted. The relation between the translator and the reader is an important part of intersubjectivity. The original author to the translator is different from the translator to the reader; the translator is almost impossible to the author’s intend reader, and the reader of the target version is the intended reader of the translator.
From the perspective of the intended reader, the dialogue between the translator and the reader does not begin with the translation interpretation of readers, but begins with the translation selection and strategy in the translator’s translation process; its performance is the reader’s awareness of translator. Reader’s reading is the last link of the translation purpose which also is the key to the realization of translation. If the cultural creativity of the translator manifests in the translation, then, the reader’s cultural creativity is reflected in the interpretation of translation
and the practical cultural activity. The cultural intention of the translator in the translation and interpretation of the translator illustrated in the prefaces are expected for the reader to read, understand, sympathize, or even turn into a real cultural action. Cultural significance of the translation depends on the grasp extent of the translator to the reader and recognition level of the reader to the translator, in short, depending on their close relationships between the subjects.
2.4 Necessity of Translator’s Subjectivity 2.4.1 Objective Existence
The translator’s dominant position is an objective reality. Translation is a creative activity; it is not just the conversion between linguistic signs, but the transmission of cultural information. In this process, the translator as the author and readers is a bridge between the original language and target language, its subjectivity to a large extent determines the merits of the translation, and thus becomes the most active factor in the translation process. Yu ever made the following points for the translator and the translation process: translator stands between the God and man, he should not only understand the divine of the God but also pass the divine in the way of human expression which is so difficult for the witch. The reader can only imagine the original author’s mood through the translator’s tone. Practically, translation is of your “side of the story” of “believe it or not”.
2.4.2 Subjectivity and Faithfulness as the Unity of Opposite
In the process of translation, the factors restricting the translator include the structural characteristics of the original and target language, expression patterns, rules, the characteristics of the original author and works, a specific social environment of the translator, cultural background. It is also the objective existence of these factors which prominently constitute the objective environment and premise of the translator’s subjectivity. Translators in their own cultural reference system accept and perform the original text, reflecting the subjectivity in the acceptance and expression of the original text, and there is no conflict between the faithfulness and subjectivity; the two are united in the translation activities. Yan Fu’s “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” reflect the harmony of these two. First, faithfulness is to the original, expressiveness is to the reader and elegance is the initiative subjectivity of the translator.
The translator should have the analysis of comprehensive and profound understanding. Even if having a strong bilingual ability, the translator would not have a thorough understanding of original if he did not make the research on the original author and his works, the materials of the original works and some relevant things relevant to the materials, the life history of that period describing in the works. The translator’s understanding of the original text depends on his ability of understanding analysis, including the understanding and analysis of the original author, rhetorical analysis, linguistic analysis, analysis of chapter relations, semantic analysis, cultural connotation, art features, and capabilities of background analysis etc. 2.4.3 Predictive Power of Potential Readers
The translation can ultimately achieve the purpose only by the reading and understanding of the readers. Translator when translating an article in his heart, always has a group of readers who have their own characteristics, including cultural awareness, relation, morality and aesthetic characteristics etc.
2.4.4 Ability to Express the Target Language
Smooth, fresh, natural, authentic and beautiful language makes the reader put it down; on the contrary, the translator’s lack of ability to express the target language will certainly make the translation difficult to understand without expressive power and influence. The performance of subjectivity should be in a degree of relaxation. Deconstruction holds that the translator is the deconstruction and reorganization of the original text, and also the creator of the translation. The translator makes the interpretation and supplementary of the original text according to their different social backgrounds, cultural environment, level of experience and understanding of life. The original and the translated in terms of language style or structure of language are difficult to achieve the absolute “loyalty” and “equivalence”.
Therefore, it is understandable that the translator’s subjectivity is an objective reality. However, we respect the subjectivity of the translator; we should also respect the position of the subject position of the original author, and if there is no subject position of the original author, not to mention the subject position of the translator. Translator’s subjectivity and “faithfulness” are the unity of opposites that is the subjectivity of translator should be maximized within the framework of faithfulness. If one-sided emphasis on the translator’s subjectivity, and taking it that the translator can be arbitrarily seized on the issue and blindly to express their views, opinions and thoughts which will be inevitably biased and tend to the other extreme of death, then translation is no longer a translation, but a pure creation.
In conclusion, the original objective for the translator has a natural light, but the target language translation is for the reader, and to some extent should be based on target language readers, and the initiative subjectivity of the translation should be performed by their environment and cultural needs, but also should be faithful to the original, so translation can allow the reader to better understand the essence of the original ideas and promote exchanges between the peoples of the world.
CHAPTER Ⅲ
ZHANG PEIJI AND HIS TRANSLAITON OF MODERN CHINESE PROSE 3.1 A Brief Introduction of Zhang Peiji’s Life Story
Mr. Zhang Peiji was born in 1921 in Fujian province and early moved to Shanghai where he received primary and secondary education. He graduated from the department of English Literature of St. John’s University of Shanghai in 1945; in the same year, he worked as an English press in “free West, Shanghai newspaper,” contributing authors of “China Review Weekly” and the deputy managing editor of “China Year Book”. In 1946 he went to serve as an English translator of the International Military Tribunal of the Far East, and then he studied at the Department of English Literature of the Indiana University Research Institute in America. A few days after the establishment of new China in 1949, he decided to fly back to the motherland and when he was only 28 years old.
After that, he studied in North China University and attended the revolutionary land reform movement in the liberated areas. Mr. Zhang went to Beijing Foreign Languages Press in 1951 engaging in the compilation for 4 years. In 1955 he began to teach at the Foreign Languages School of People’s Liberation Army (now Luoyang PLA Foreign Languages Institute) where he spent his 25 years life. With the migration of the school site, his footprints left in Zhangjiakou, Beijing, Luoyang and other cities.
In 1980, Zhang began to teach in Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (now Foreign Economic and Trade University) and retired in 1991. He ever held a post of the tutor, judges of the Beijing senior;
director of Translators Association of China, English translation consultant of the Foreign Languages Press, and he was a receiver of a special allowance issued by the State Council as a prominent contributor. He has been included in the “Dictionary of Chinese translators” and plays an important role in the translation industry in China today.
In recent year, he has been writing for the columns of Friends of Translation of “Chinese Translation” magazine and the “self-study exercises of Chinese to English”. These translations are of natural flow and very literary styles, fully reflecting the translator’s translation theory and benefiting many readers and fans as classic translations. These translations were later incorporated into the “Modern Chinese prose” and assembly published which not only provide a wealth of examples of articles for the further study of translation theories and techniques for the Chinese scholars, but also provide a large number of materials for foreign scholars to study development of intellectuals since the China’s May Fourth Movement. He currently serves as a consultant of the “English World” magazine; he is also a consultant in one of the Beijing private schools. As a veteran educator, he made a great contribution for the school’s teacher training. Prof. Zhang Peiji has been engaging in translation practice for 50 years, and his practices have won a great reputation among translation circle. Nowadays his works have been studied by many overseas and inland scholars, even some treasured in the libraries, overseas and inland. Early in 1992, Prof. Jin Shenghua, dean of Translation Department of the Chinese University of , wrote article to reveal her great impression left by Mr. Zhang Peiji’s works. Especially, “A Course in English-Chinese Translation” compiled by Prof. Zhang Peiji in 1980 was chosen to be a translation textbook for English major students in China. Since its first appearance, this book has been reprinted for 32 times which amounts to one million volumes. 3.2 Zhang Peiji’s Prose Translation 3.2.1 Definition of Prose
The definition of prose can be defined both in broad sense and in narrow sense. Broadly speaking, writings without verse are regarded as prose except for the poetry, the prose embraces all types of literary works as argumentation, exposition, narration and all kinds of applied writings. Narrowly speaking, it is a kind of style in line with poetry, novel, and drama, which can be classified into report works, literary messages, biographer’s works, lyrics, prose and travel prose, preface and postscript, memoir, and scientific works etc. (Gong Guangming, 2004: 433-434) People’s comments towards prose differ from ancient to modern. BingXin (冰心), a famous writer ever said: “prose is neither verse nor Pian Wen (骈文), and all poems versed and Pian Wen written in couplet are not prose, but all writings without verse are prose which is the earliest classification about prose.” But this earliest concept of prose is general but indistinctive for lack of understanding of its nature.
With the development of stylistics, the concept of prose is gradually narrowed, and it coexists with poetry, novel and drama. But the cognition is still far from the nature of the prose. To some extent, it is rather complex to define prose correctly and clearly in practice. Thus, Ba Jin (巴金), another Chinese “man of letters” said, “I really cannot tell it out, and it is neither my intention to tell a lie, nor my consideration of unassuming.” So an affirmative answer cannot be offered, prose is neither poetry or novel nor drama. Prose as a literary style is the least style in view of the form, rules and patterns.
The distinct characteristic is its flexible writing form and non-restricted topic for the feature of prose. In short, the characteristic of prose can be summarized with one word for free which is not
only specific to its form, but to its openness, integration, flowing and non-stop changes.
So Wang Dongfeng pointed that prose’s value exists in its “free” without fixed patterns, with the features of combination of lyric, narration, argument; however, it cannot be free because it requires conciseness in language, clearness in main idea and consideration in organization structure, and it should obey the rules of “free form”. That is prose, and its stylistic feature determines its language characteristic. Despite the different perspectives, prose is defined from its common features, it may be defined as “Prose is an art language rooted on sentiments, formed by free and flexible organization, focused on mental feeling and nature of reality.” 3.2.2 Stylistic Comparison between English and Chinese Prose
In comparison with poetry and novel, the prominent feature of prose is “free” without a fixed pattern in its style and technique, although theorists define it variously and maybe the only description of “flexible structure” of “various writing techniques” could be accepted commonly. Prose’s non-fixed pattern brings troubles in its definition and some characteristics of prose, introduction to its translation will help us know more of Prose. 1) Stylistic Features of Chinese Prose and its Translation
Broadly speaking, prose is somewhat like “wen” in Chinese tradition. Traditional Chinese prose has experienced three periods in terms of style. Prose has been written in the form of “poem” “Pian-San” and “Guwen”(古文) respectively (Gao Shunqing, 2000). But what we call as Sanwen(散文) today is similar to “prose”. Nowadays, modern Chinese prose has the following features: firstly, free form, but focused sentiments. Although it cannot apply to all kinds of prose, it still is characterized as the general feature of prose.
Secondly, prose materials are adopted from the real life. The real material is a main feature which is different from other literary works. Of course, the “truth” of Prose is the unity of art and life. Thirdly, prose creation has distinctively individual characteristics. The stylistic feature of Prose determines its language characteristics, so prose translation should pay much attention to the individual, witty and subtle content of the original and it also requires that the translator should have a higher level of individual thinking quality and writing wisdom. Prose translation is similar to the prose writing because they both focus on the following writing wits: the sentiment and implication reaching the state of contemporary writing standards of putting feeling into thought; the proper strategy based on the understanding of each thought, feeling, point of view and occasion.
2) Stylistic Features of English Prose and its Translation
To a great degree, English Prose with relatively independent tradition comparing with our Chinese Prose has following features: firstly, more are the individualized prose, while fewer are the prose written in the form of official style. Secondly, more are the prose written in the form of narration, philosophy and classic lyrics, but fewer in special purposes form. As for the exploration, Chinese lays emphasis on the personal experience and spiritual expression. A fact is that in 18th century prose really reached its period of development in U.K.
And in 19th century, the development of prose reached its summit with its materials spread to daily life. So the author’s individuality seems to be much stronger and more colorful. In view of English to Chinese prose translation, the following points should be taken into consideration. Firstly, translator should pay more attention to the relationship between style and translation. In the process of translation, translator must analyze and grasp its stylistic writing features in order to make the translated style and features be suitable for the original prose. Of course, translator’s
style is considered at the same time. Secondly, translator should stress the idea of “the spiritual resemblance, but not seek for frame resemblance” and break down the restriction and limitation of language surface structure to catch “the author’s mind” and convey closet Chinese to its form. Only in this way can the translation be faithful to the original works. As far as the faithfulness is concerned, it should be shown in the spiritual essences of word meaning, sentence meaning and style. Of course, it is the utmost to stress on the hierarchy, translator’s own individual feature, even his register in prose.
In short, translator must take the above points into consideration in prose translation, and make clear of author’s intention, ideology trend, standing point, developing network, tone and wording etc to reproduce the vivid images of source language, thus achieving the aesthetic effect and artistic conception at best.
3.3 Significance of Zhang Peiji’s Prose Translation
Few western translators introduced Chinese essays to the western world. Even if they do translate some significant works, their choices of text could not fully reflect the total style and features of Chinese essays. The translation of Chinese ancient poems is a typical example. The works they translate are not representative works of representative considered by Chinese.
The situation of essay translation from Chinese into English is not optimistic. Few Chinese essays were translated into the western world, let alone the works of representative writers since the May 4th Movement of 1919. The translation of essays by Zhang Peiji is authentic expression of the writers’ emotions; thought; ethical value and ideology displayed between lines. Zhang Peiji takes various translating techniques in his translation to realize his translation criteria which not only caters the need of western readers, but also appropriately conveys the thought, the content and cultural information of the original. His precise understanding of the original content and style makes him faithfully reproduce the essays. The two volumes provide foreign scholars with a shortcut to understand Chinese ideological development since the May 4th Movement of 1919. Therefore Professor Zhu Manhua concludes that many translators have introduced western thoughts and theories to Chinese in the last 100 years but few Chinese have introduced the thoughts embodied in the essays since the May 4th Movement of 1919 to world. Professor Zhang Peiji fills in the gap.
3.4 Zhang Peiji’s Language Characteristics
Usually the worst but the most important question in the translation of Chinese to English is: Chinese emphasizes on Parataxis, lack of form signs, loose phrases and sentence structure. The logical relationship between words is judged by meaning, not by clear conjunction, while English stresses on hypotaxis; the logical relationship between sentences can be seen obviously at a glance. So in translation, the key to authentic smooth translation is the proper integration of the original sentences.
Of this problem, prose translation was particularly evident. Prose, as a literary genre has a wide range of topics of free-form features. Chinese and English are different. From the features of prose, Chinese stresses on the casual form with close meaning as long as the central meaning is clear though the form is freedom and flexibility, while English put the emphasis on compacting sentence.
The results of differences between the two languages in prose translation are the translator cannot stick to word for word translation in order to accurately convey the original meaning and the keeping of the prose style. The second meaning of the faithfulness is that the translator must
seek to be faithful to the original meaning with the original flavor.
Mr. Zhang’s main ideas of the prose translation is: sentence-division is always made based on the no deviation from the original, melting the meaning of a number of small sentences; synthesizing or demolishing or selecting the appropriate conjunctions to connect the sentence and structure which do not lead to the loss of the original meaning, but to ensure that the English habit of rigorous logic and the readability of the entire translation, as to the charm of the communication in prose translation, the most direct way is to try to figure out, mimicking the words of the individual, including the author’s words and expressions; word is primitive or gorgeous; expression is simple and concise.
CHARPTER Ⅳ
MANIFESTATION OF TRANSLATOR’S SUBJECTIVITY IN ZHANG PEIJI’S TRANSALTION OF MODERN CHINESE PROSE
The translator’s subjectivity is represented in all aspects of the translation. It is presented both in the translator’s re-creation of the original in the perspectives of the comprehension, interpretation and linguistic transformation, and in the choices of original text for translating, purposes of translation, the translating strategies the translator chooses and the cultural manipulation reflected in the preface or postscript. There are many things that can affect the translator’s subjectivity.
According to Berman, a translator, the most active element in translation, is the subject of translation. His own translation motive, intention, and aim can determine his ways of translating Andre Lefevere, in his Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame states that the patronage, poetics and the categories, which include many aspects, will also determine and influence a translator’s subjectivity.
The translator’s subjectivity in this thesis mainly focuses on Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation. Specifically speaking, the manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity in his prose translation will be explored at the macro as well as the micro level. Here the macro level refers to the preparation of translating, which includes the selection of the source text, translation purpose, the selection of translation methods and so on. The micro level refers to the cultural and linguistic aspect, which includes lexical, syntactical, rhetorical level and so on. 4.1 Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Macro Level
The “macro” refers to the factors beyond translation process, such as the selection of source text, translation purpose, translation methods and so on. There are some elements concerning with a translator’s subjectivity having effect on the selection of the translation material. If a translator is free enough to choose the translation material by himself, he himself will be the patron of his own. He can determine the subject for translation. Different people have different interests, and so do translators.
The different interests of different translators will determine the translation material of their selection. In most cases, a translator would like to choose materials he is interested to translate and try his best to avoid those in which he isn’t interested at all. In addition to the interests of translator, there are other elements influencing his selection of translation materials, such as translation purpose. A translator can choose those materials catering to his translation purpose. In some sense, translation is a process of the translator’s making choices and decisions. The translator can determine his way of translation method according to the content and style of the source text and his views on translation etc. Different translation strategies, methods, and ways
of expression will be employed. The translator develops a strategy and makes tactical decisions based on his strategy. He will use domestication method or alienation method, literal translation or free translation, extension, annotation, blending, combination, compensation, etc, according to his subjective judgment. This is a subjective progress. Besides, the translator’s view on translation and his understanding of translation decides his ways of expression. In addition, his motive will influence his choices in translation. 4.1.1 Choice of Source Texts
According to Zhang Peiji, doing translation is out of his personal interest. He only translates what interest him. If articles written by controversial writers are realistically significant and can leave some food for thought, he will translate nevertheless. It is obvious that 97 proses in the two volumes are written mostly by famous writers since the May Fourth Movement of 1919. Most prose selected is instructive for thought except for the length limit; he is free to choose prose he would like to translate. This freedom makes him capable of applying his techniques and integrating his views on translation in translating. From the choice of source texts, we may conclude that the artistic temperament and aesthetic views of the translator are close to those of the original author which will add credit to the quality of the translation, especially in style. 4.1.2 Purpose of Translation
The purpose of translation directly influences a translator’s action in translating. Zhang Peiji mentions three purposes of his translation in the preface of the first volume of Selected Modern Chinese Prose writings. 1. Pastime. 2. Devotion. 3. Introduction of excellent modern Chinese prose into foreigners.
As mentioned in the back cover of the first volume, the target readers are Chinese-English literary translation researchers home and abroad, college teachers of translation, junior and senior of undergraduates and enthusiast of literary translation and English. It opens a window for foreign scholars to research thought development of intellectual’s since the May Fourth Movement of 1919 in China.
We may notice that the purposes are far beyond the above mentioned three. Before compiling translations into volumes Zhang Peiji published them separately and the columns for him to publish his translations are Chinese-English translation columns in Chinese Translators. The first intended readers of the columns are learners and teachers of translation. Published in this way, it is obvious his translations function as teaching materials. Even Zhang Peiji himself when facing the comment of “a good textbook though not a textbook” has to acknowledge in the preface of the second volume of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings that the translations provide examples of Chinese-English translation techniques and theories for teachers and learners engaging in translation.
4.1.3 Selection of Translation Strategies
Different translators choose a different translating strategy especially for a special translator, the translating strategies he/she adopts is different when translating different texts. Translators of different times prefer to choose different strategies. The multitude but complicated factors which influence translating strategies are the purpose of translation; the conventions of target culture; the reading requirement of addresses and the characteristics of the source text. Various are the factors influencing the choice of translating strategies, while one essential factor can not be neglected. That is the purpose of translator which is a case in point proving the translator’s subjectivity.
According to the Skopostheorie, translation strategies and methods are determined by the translator’s purpose and the intended function of the target text (Nord, 2001: 29).
Translators can either adopt the way of mechanical translation or employ the method of free rewriting or use different translation strategies between the two which depends on the intended purpose of the translation. Therefore Skopostheorie provides the translator a new perspective to decide what strategy should be employed in the whole process, and it certainly displays the subjectivity of translator in translation activity. Literal translation and free translation have been “twin sisters” ever since the translation takes into shape. Literal translation is the translation corresponding exactly to the original, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary (4th ed.), and it is a mechanically word-to-word translation of the original text.
In reality, it is an efficient method to keep the cultural features of the original text. Since Prof. Zhang concludes his translation principle as “faithfulness” and “smoothness” and his purpose is to introduce Chinese thoughts and ideas to foreigners. And literal translation is adopted in Zhang’s prose translation. He is likely to prefer treating sentences as the basic units and taking the whole prose into consideration in the course of prose translation. He tries not to break up the original sentence unit in order to keep the original flavor as much as what he can, which does not mean that the translator should simply lay emphasis on the formal equivalence at the sentence level, but convey the original meaning of the whole context. This feature is displayed in Zhu Ziqing’s famous prose “the Sight of the Father’s Back”.
Adhering to the criteria of faithfulness and adopting the literal translation, Prof, Zhang has achieved the success in translating the original text into English without misrepresenting the original content. A comparative study between the source and the target text embodies exactly equivalence function.
Besides the literal translation, annotation, another special translation method was used in his translation. At the end of each prose Prof. Zhang adds the detailed motes for the cultural background which is helpful and necessary for some cultural blanks. Annotation helps the translator provide relevant cultural background in details. And it is a bridge to enrich the target language with alien culture which manifests the translator’s subjectivity. It is rare for a translator to add notes at each end of his translation to state his language, translating skills, cultural understanding etc. Thus it is a special characteristic for Prof. Zhang Peiji’s translation which completely embodies the usage of the translator’s subjectivity in translation. 4.1.4 Translation Criteria of Prof. Zhang Peiji
Prof. Zhang in his A Course in English-Chinese translation once put forth the translation criteria which could be summarized as faithfulness and smoothness on the basis of three characters “信雅达” (faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance) advocated by Yan Fu for translation. As for the faithfulness, he demands that the translation should be faithful to the content, language and style of the original at the same time. He believes the translation should be faithful to the content of the original, that is, the translator ought to convey the content of the original faithfully and exactly. The translator has no right to alter the meaning of the original, no right to go against or deviate from the original; no right to change ideas of the original. This does not mean translation practice should merely attach importance to the formal equivalence at the sentence level, but convey the deep meaning from the whole context. So the translator should use his own understanding and translation skills to reach this level.
In a word, what occurred in the original should be rendered with no or little change. Just as what Lu Xun ever said “to keep the flavor of the original”. As to the smoothness of translation, it means that the target language should be smooth and clear so that expressions are in conformity with the standard language. They cannot be word-for-word translation, nor can be obscure and unnatural etc.
Prof. Zhang always adheres to his translation principles of “faithfulness” and “smoothness”, and he treats his translation with adequate consideration of the thinking pattern of native speakers as well. To a large degree, “faithfulness” and “smoothness” can be summarized as his translation principles. However, we all know that in culture and language, it is difficult to achieve this goal completely because of some differences. So how does Prof. Zhang carries out his translation criteria during his prose translation? How do translators show their strong initiative throughout translation? Translator’s subjectivity can be regarded as a better approach to explore this question. In the following sections, the writer of this paper will analyze how the translator’s subjectivity influence Prof. Zhang’s translation and how he unifies his translation criteria and translation practice as a whole.
4.2 Translator’s Subjectivity Displayed at the Micro Level
To be specific, this micro mainly focuses on the translation process including the comprehension and representation of the source text. And at this stage, the translator’s role is a special writer or a rewriter. The subjectivity of the translator is mainly shown in the language and cultural form. For the discussion of this stage we must analyze its basis----the process of understanding the original text at first. To some extent, understanding and expressing are combined together. Understanding is the basis of expressing which is the soul of a translation and will determine the quality of translation directly.
Different translators have different understandings for the same source text. The reason for these phenomena is that everyone has a fore structure in his mind, no matter whether he is aware of it nor not. He contends that all interpretations must begin with the mental structure the interpreter brings to the object. Indeed, the interpreter has no other alternative but to interpret everything with his or her knowledge. It hardly seems to be revolutionary. Yet it does have revolutionary consequences. It means, for instance, that every interpretation must be unique, since every interpretation even by the same person is made from a somewhat different perspective. The three components of the fore structure are for having foresight and conception.
In fact, all of the words have somewhat idiosyncratic meanings, and as a translator, his fore structure includes presupposition on the one hand, and the empathy on the other. Presupposition can be affected by the culture and history of his own country, and the social background he has grown up in, while the empathy is the attribution of one’s own feelings to the translation material or his identification with and the understanding of the situation, feelings, and motives of the translation material. If a translator is familiar with the culture or history of the material he is translating, his understanding of the source text will be of course better than the one he doesn’t know well. To the empathy, the situation is almost the same. If a translator involves himself totally to the material he is translating i.e. devoting all his feelings, his understanding of the material will also be better than if he doesn’t do so.
In addition to what have been mentioned, different character, different experience, and different educational background of different translators, etc. will also affect their
understanding of the same source material. So the translator’s subjectivity has become a very active element in affecting translator’s understanding during the process of translation. While expressing should be based on the preparation, then of course, one can say that expressing is also influenced by the translator’s subjectivity.
Language, as Bollinger defines “a system of vocal-auditory communication, interacting with the experiences of its users, employing conventional signs composed of arbitrary patterned sound units and assembled according to set rules.” According to Bollinger, language is human and essence of it is a way of thinking and acting. This can soundly account for why language varies both temporally and specially. For example, prose translation is just as the prose writing, which has no fixed technique. So it just depends on the translator’s subjectivity. The prose selected by Prof. Zhang Peiji in his books were published after May 4th Movement, belonging to modern Chinese prose writings.
Most language in these prose is in simplified form, however still a little in the classical form. How to deal with this language difference? What the translator may and must do is to choose one from those available alternatives after a careful consideration of the source text. Putting language into use is basically choosing language elements from language system for a certain purpose or purposes. It is in this sense that the translator enjoys great freedom. Since “no translator can avoid a certain degree of personal involvement in his work”, attitude of the translator toward the source text inevitably intrudes in the expression process. Although most of the translations have something in common, they convey slightly different sense. The attitude of the translators decides the choice of different words and forms. All these would be explained in details in the following.
4.2.1 Flexibility of Sentence Structure in “Sight of the Father’s Back”
Language characteristics of “Sight of the Father’s Back”: 1. Simple, clean, not intentionally modified, either words or sentences are true. 2. Comparison of colloquial word is not uncommon. 3. Every word is content, connecting a compact, unobtrusive, and reads smoothly, but the coherence and cohesion is a loose statement. 4. More short sentences, less dialogue, the narrative is calm, but which contains a wealth of emotions. Overall, the author is realistic to speak, to express their realistic thoughts and feelings, not pretentious. Based on the original style, the translator’s words are plainly simple, and often in oral language, to get the same tone with the original, which retained the original simple style. Taking into full account their own characteristics and Britain, and some wording of the target language sentence habits is made for the appropriate cuts; others are based on the expression of the target language to adjust the word order. If you read only English, you do not even think this is a translation, not like from the hands of the Chinese translation. It is self-contained, smooth and accurate. And it can be said to maintain both perfect text information, but also the original style and flavor. Example 1
那年冬天，祖母死了，父亲的差使也交卸了，正是祸不单行的日子，我从北京到徐州，打算跟着父亲奔丧回家。----朱自清《父亲的背影》
Misfortunes never some singly. In the winter of more than two years ago, grandma died and father lost his job. I left Beijing for Xuzhou to join father in hastening home to attend grandma’s funeral.
--The Sight of Fahter’s Back （张培基， 1999:65）
The original is a long sentence by a few small compositions, and organization is free which is
divided into three sentences neatly. “正是祸不单行的日子” is a natural connection in meaning but not clear in logic relation. If translated the same as the original order, the whole sentence would be loose and sloppy. While the conversation of the sentence order plays a role of leading the following sentences, making it a compact, robust discourse. Example 2
到徐州见着父亲，看见埋怨狼藉的东西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼泪。 ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
When I met father in Xuzhou, the sight of the disorderly mess in the courtyard and the thought of grandma started tears trickling down my cheeks.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:65） The two verbs “看见” and “想起” in the original are translated into two parallel symmetric structures, which is a habit advantage of English nouns. Example 3
这些日子，家中光景很是惨淡，一半是为了丧事，一半为了父亲赋闲。 ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
Between grandma’s funeral and father’s unemployment, our family was then in reduced circumstances.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基，1999:65）
The small sentences in the original text are combined and the sentence order is exchanged. “为了” reminds easily of the phrase “because of”, but it would be blunter, because there is no emphasis on the reasons for the original meaning in translation. “Between” in the translation is wisely used to naturally express the causality. This little preposition reflects Mr. Zhang’s flexibility of grasping the target language. In addition, the method of ambiguity such as the “reduced circumstances” for “惨淡”is also very brilliant. Example 4
他再三嘱咐茶房，甚是仔细。但他终于不放心，怕茶房不妥帖；颇踌躇了一会。 ----《父亲的背影》
He urged the waiter again and again to take good care of me, but still did not quite trust him. He hesitated for quite a while about what to do.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66） Example 5
他踌躇了一会，终于决定还是自己送我去。 ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
After some wavering, he finally decided that he himself would accompany me to the station. ----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66）
“嘱咐” in Example 4 is translated cleverly into “urged… to take good care of me”, avoiding the mechanical word for word translation. “甚是仔细”is not wisely translated, since “again and again” is the position of information, and it is no need to adhere strictly to the original word order. The two “踌躇” in the context are translated in two respectively different verb terms, avoiding the repetition and appearing rather flexible. Example 6
不要紧，他们去不好！ ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
“Never mind!” It won’t do to trust guys like those hotel boys.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66）
Father’s words are simple and completely spoken, and it is translated into English without any modification.
“Guys” adds to the color of spoken language, and the translation is mechanical word for word translation, but it certainly plays a role in the context, and it can be said that it was a good example of “functional equivalence”. Example 7
我那时真是聪明过分，总觉他说话不大漂亮，非自己擦嘴不可。但他终于讲定了价钱；就送我上车。
----朱自清《父亲的背影》
I was such a smart alert that I frowned upon the way father was haggling and was on the verge of chipping in a few words when the bargain was finally clinched.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66）
This sentence contains several small sentences. Obviously, the original meaning is divided into two layers connected by a semicolon. Through several related words “such… that”, the translator arrange the meaning of relatively loose and short sentences into a complex sentence order with smooth, authentic and logic sense. In addition, “聪明过分” is ironic and it is clever to be translated into “smart alert”. As for the authentically clever conjunction, there are many examples, such as: Example 8
他给我拣定了靠车门的一张椅子；我将他给我的紫毛大衣铺好座位。 ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
He picked me a seat close to the carriage door. I spend on the seat the brownish fur-lined overcoat he had got tailor made for me.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66）
The original “他给我做的” can be explained in two ways; Firstly, he personally made, and second, he found a tailor to make. In line with the habit and common sense, we are not likely to understand wrongly. But if translating into English, we must note: “I spread on the seat the brownish fur-lined overcoat he got tailor made for me.” expressing clearly the “tailor made”, otherwise, English-speaking readers would be misled, resulting in convey the inaccurate information. Therefore the appropriate addition is necessary. And the translation for “紫毛大衣”is authentically brilliant.
The detailed description of his father’s crossing the railway to buy oranges is the most impressive. The following is Zhang’s treatment: Example 9
我看见他戴着黑布小帽，穿着黑布大马褂，深青布棉袍，蹒跚地走到铁道边，慢慢探身下去，上不大难。可是他穿过铁道，要爬上那边月台，就不容易了。 ----朱自清《父亲的背影》
I watched him hobble towards the railway track in his black skullcap, black cloth mandarin jacket and dark blue cotton-padded cloth long gown. He had little trouble climbing down the railway track, but it was a lot more difficult for him to climb up that platform after crossing the railway track.
----The Sight of Father’s Back （张培基， 1999:66）
The original structure is a loose connection at random, and the subject was even changed in
the middle. And a complex sentence appears to be compact through sentence-division. Unfortunately the translation of “climbing down the railway track” is still a little absent in describing the action details. Factually, the action description in the original is very important, which is a physical action of an old man deserving a careful description for his father. However, the translated version does not reflect this and it is a loss of information. We have to say that it is Mr. Zhang’s small mistake. In addition, the translation of his father’s clothes is very faithful to the original, reflecting his serious attitude. 4.2.2 Appropriateness of Word Choice 4.2.2.1 Title Translation
Subject for an article plays a vital role. Although it seems very simple, usually a word, phrase or a short sentence, phrase or a short sentence, it often comes from the author’s appropriate intention. Subject is the crowning touch to the whole article. From the title of an article, the reader often speculates on what this article probably is about. Therefore, it is of great significance the translator to recognize the close relationship between subject and content. Translator cannot separate the relation between the article and the subject by leaving aside the content of the article and purely translating the subject for subject, which easily leads to the inaccurate understanding of the article, and even a far cry from the original topic or content. Only be grasping the full content to decide the translation of the subject, can the original title be successfully translated into English. For the literary translation, the faithfulness and smoothness are not enough; the translator should retain the aesthetic value of the original in every possible way. Of course, as it should be the translation of the subject. Let’s look at Mr. Zhang Peiji’s specific translation of Miss Xie Bingying’s works to feel how he cleverly translated the subjects. Example 10
刹那的印象----（谢冰莹）
----My Instant Response （张培基 2003:116）
Here it cannot be translated as “My Instant Impression”. After reading the whole article, we can see that “刹那的印象” refers to the author’s reaction when a wife of an officer bought a little girl as a maidservant and ordered people to comment in public on the move and posture of the girl, the author is particularly angry at the degrading act, so when he returned to school, he wrote this article expressing his immediate response to point out the problems. It can be seen that Mr. Zhang carefully tries to figure out the full text and convey the spirit of the original substance. Example 11
粉笔生涯（谢冰莹）
--My Teaching Career (张培基 2003:143)
This title cannot be literally translated as “Life on Chalk or Life of Chalk”, and the chalk may be interpreted as a teaching profession, if it was translated according to the literal meaning, which will inevitably lead to a joke and distort the original meaning of the subject.
The prose describes a fragment of a teacher’s experience and reflects the time of her dedication as a teacher and her deep feelings for the students. So, here the translator translated the title into “My Teaching Career”, conveying the true content of the article more appropriately and accurately. Example 12
黄昏----(谢冰莹) ----Dusk (张培基 2003:136) 饥饿----(谢冰莹) ----Hunger (张培基 2003:108)
When translating the two subjects, Mr. Zhang Peiji used a word concisely toward the theme, which is straight to the point at a glance. Example 13
我爱作文(谢冰莹) ----I Love Composition (张培基 2003:121)
The original author used a simple phrase for the title; the translator also used a simple subject-predicate sentence to translate, which is both faithful and accurate in the conveying of the original meaning. Example 14
海恋(谢冰莹) ----I Love the Sea (张培基 2003；129)
The original title of the article was a noun phrase structure; Mr. Zhang Peiji used in the translation a simple sentence to express. 4.2.2.2 Discretion of Words
In literary translation, the translation does not only convey the information of the original, but also reproduce the original style and flavor, so it can be regarded as a successful translation. If only conveying the original message but neglecting the retaining of the original style, then the translation will become bland and damage the original charm. Translator in the translation process pays a special attention to faithfulness of the original and does not rigidly by using additional words, less words, modifications and other means to show the good command of English language and literature training, at the same time well preserving the original beauty. Example 15
咫尺之隔，竟成海天之遥 ----廖志远《致蒋经国信》
Who would have expected that the short distance between us should be keeping us Poles apart!----A Letter to Chiang Ching-Kuo (张培基 1999： 465)
In this translation, instead of its literal rhetiorical question, Prof. Zhang uses an exclamation sentence, especially the expressions of “Poles apart” to replace “so vast a distance”, sharply reflecting our Chinese dream of the realization of national reunification between mainland and Tai Wan Example 16
幼时同胞，苏京把晤，往事历历在目----廖承志《致蒋经国信》
The days we spent together in childhood as well as later in the Soviet capital, however, are still as fresh as ever in my memory.
----A Letter to Chiang Ching-Kuo (张培基 1999：465)
Prof. Zhang holds that the expression of “are still as fresh as ever” is much better than “still remain fresh” because “are still as fresh as ever” is likely to take readers to be personally on the scene and remain the lasting feeling. Namely it reproduces the artistic conception more accurately and vividly. Example 17
共竞祖国统一大业 ----廖承志《致蒋经国信》
Strive together for the great cause of national reunification. ----A Letter to Chiang CHing-Kuo (张培基 1999：465) Actually ““ means to make a great effort to achieve something, while using “work jointly to” just means to do something together, not laying emphasis on the great effort. It is obvious
that national reunification demands great efforts. The using of “strive together for” reflects faithfully the original not only in form but in content and it seems more correct. 4.2.2.3 Lyric Words Example 18
啊，死了的我昨日的尸骸呦哭坟的是你自己的灵魂。 ----郭沫若《墓》
O ye remains of my yesterday’ dead self, it was your own soul that had come to mourn at the grave!
----The Grave (张培基 1999:174)
In this translation, Prof. Zhang uses a lyric word “O ye” aiming to create an atmosphere of poetic feeling and keep it as the emotional theme of the whole prose. This lyric word grasps the feeling and tones of the whole prose. Apparently, the choice of lyric words forms the translation style and enables him to achieve the appropriateness of word choice. 4.2.2.4 Idioms
Chinese and English as the carriers of different cultures are vastly different, especially in the idioms, and idioms are conventional word phrases and short sentences with the characteristics of vividness, concise expressions. Both English and Chinese are particularly rich in idioms with their own culture backgrounds, philosophy wisdom and history backgrounds etc. Chinese idioms like a beautiful landscape are widely used in Chinese literary works. Therefore in the translation of Chinese prose, it is a necessary and significant job for a translator to deal with the idioms. Example 19
同捐前嫌 ----廖承志《致蒋经国信》 Let by gones be bygones
----A Letter to Chiang Ching-Kuo (张培基 1999:465)
The Chinese idiom means what has happened should be forgotten, especially the unpleasant happening with some others. Prof. Zhang adopt a standard expression “let bygones be bygones” to convey the original meaning which is exactly fit for the Chinese idiom not only in form but also in content. And also from the angle of translation method, it is a nice native expression. Prof. Zhang Peijji is accustomed to using an English idiom expression suiting to the target language to achieve the fine quality of the translation. Only in this way, can the translation be rather standard and fluent. Thus Prof. Zhu Manhua said “If you read only the English, you will not believe that it is translated by a Chinese” (Zhu Manhua, 2000:61) Example 20
委之异日 ----廖承志《致蒋经国信》 Sleeping over the problem
----A Letter to Chiang Ching-Kuo (张培基 1999:466)
Prof. Zhang freely translates the Chinese idioms with the closet English idioms. It proves Prof. Zhang is proficient in his mother tongue and has a very good foundation in English as well. Translation is a bilingual switching process. And the foundation of bilingual ability and bi-culture are the essential requirements in handling translation. They effects on the translation quality directly, that is to say, the weak grounding will produce poor translation, even mistranslation. As Prof. Lu Gusun says, “the foundation stone of translation is language abilities and literary cultivation” (Mao Ronggui, 2002:3) 4.2.3 Syntactic Rhetoric
4.2.3.1 Parallelism
Parallelism refers to the use of identical or equivalent synthetic constructions in corresponding clauses or sentences for emotional emphasis. We may treat parallelism as a matter of balance in language. Language will be clear and smooth when linguistic elements are balanced or paralleled; language will be awkward and confusing when they are not balanced. Example 21
燕子去了，有再来的时候；杨柳枯了，有再青的时候；桃花谢了，有再开的时候。但是，聪明的你，告诉我，我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢？ ----朱自清《匆匆》
If swallows goes away, they will come back again. If willows wither, they will turn green again. If peach blossoms fade, they will flower again. But, tell me, you the wise, why should our days go by, never to return?
----Transient Days (张培基，1999:75)
Three parallel structures were used in the source text uses so as to achieve euphony in sound, balance in structure, and emotion in meaning besides revealing the law of nature and creating a suspense for the readers (i.e. in contrast to 燕子，杨柳，桃花，what about our days?). No doubt the original is so impressive turning out to be household words of Chinese! In translation, Zhang Peiji also uses the same three parallel structures (“if… they will”) to achieve the expressive function of the target text and remedy this loss of rhyme effect, therefore, the translation is as beautiful as the original in sound, structure and meaning. 4.2.3.2 Rhetoric Questions
Rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply (e.g. “Why me, Lord?”). Syntactic rhetoric is frequently used by the speaker to ascertain or deny something, and encourage the listener to reflect on what the implied answer to the question must. Look at the following example to see how Zhang Peiji deals with this kind of figure of speech. Example 22
在逃去如飞的日子里，在千门万户的世界里我能做什么呢？ 只有徘徊罢了，只有匆匆罢了；在八千多日的匆匆里，除徘徊外，又剩些什么呢？过去的日子如轻烟，卑微风吹散了，如薄雾，被初阳蒸融了；我留着些什么痕迹呢？我何曾留着像丝样的痕迹呢？我赤裸裸来到这世界，转眼间也将赤裸裸地回去罢，但不能平的，为什么偏要白白走这一遭啊？ -----朱自清《匆匆》
Living in this world with its fleeting days and teeming millions, what can I do but waver and wander and live a transient life? What have I been doing during the 8,000 fleeting days except wavering and wandering? The bygone days, like wipes of smoke, have been dispersed by gentle winds, and like thin mists, have been evaporated by the rising sun. What traces have I left behind? No, nothing, not even gossamer-like traces. I have come to this world stark naked, and in the twinkling of an eye, I am to go back as stark naked as ever. However, I am taking it very much to heart: Why should I be made to pass through this world for nothing at all? ----Transient Days (张培基，1999：76)
In the original text, the author uses a series of rhetoric questions to show the author’s emotion that time is so fleeting that we should strive to find out the significance of time and life. And the rhetoric questions in this text are put in parallel in order to further increase the negative tone and emotion of the author (e.g. 又剩些什么呢means “there’s nothing that I would have
left behind). Zhang Peiji faithfully renders the rhetoric questions to achieve the similar effect, while one sentence “我何曾留着像丝样的痕迹呢？” is translated into “No, nothing, not even gossamer-like traces” representing the author’s negative attitude through the use of three negative words “no, nothing, not even” with the latter one bearing stronger emotion than the previous one. 4.2.3.3 Punctuation
Both in English and Chinese languages, the types of punctuation and usage is basically the same, but must not result in blindly correspondence in the translation of an article, and if so, will seriously affect the meaning of the expression of translation must be based on the original context; flexible adjustment should be made for the translation. Mr. Zhang Peiji in the translation of these six poses, in accordance with the expression of specific needs flexibly deal with the punctuation, making the translation more accurately convey the content and spirit of the original. Example 23
有一天，我和两位小学时代的同学，去一个同乡家里吃饭，主人刚刚买了一个十三岁的丫头来，那女孩长得面黄肌瘦，身材瘦小，满脸现着泪痕；倒是一双乌溜溜的大黑眼睛，非常惹人怜爱。----谢冰莹《刹那的印象》
One day, together with two classmates of the primary school days, I went to dinner at a fellow provincial home. The host had just bought a 13 years old slave girl. Short and slight in build, she looked thin and sickly with a tear stained face. But her bright big ebony eyes were just lovely. ----My Instant Response (张培基， 2003:116)
Nine punctuations in the original and only seven in the translation show that Chinese sentence stresses on the parataxis while English on the hypo taxis; the translator does the conversion in line with the common features of English sentences. Example 24
真是文学家心肠，居然哭起来了！----谢冰莹《刹那的印象》 Sheep’s crying----a real soft-hearted writer, eh!
----My Instant Response (张培基， 2003:116)
In the original uses respectively a comma and a period, but converted in the translation of a dash, a comma and an exclamation point. Because in the process of translation, the translator reversed the two components, so adding a dash to show and an exclamation point at the end of the sentence to clearly express the speaker’s tone, with the taste of irony, though without the exclamation point in the original text, but the tone has already been expressed clearly, adding in the translation is necessary.) Example 25
谁能否认海的伟大呢？----谢冰莹《海恋》
There is no denying the mightiness of the sea. ----I Love the Sea (张培基， 2003:129)
The question mark here in the original was converted into period, the surface appears to be that the translation of the original rhetorical question was translated into declarative sentences, but in fact is due to the tone of the statement itself is a positive tone, that is: no one can deny the great sea, because of the translator’s accurate understanding of the spirit of the original essence. Example 26
我更爱看矗立在海的灯塔，我佩服那守塔的人，他每天机械地守住自己的岗位，给予
往来的航行者一种光明的指示；假若没有他，这海面将被黑暗所包围，来往的船只，随时都有触着暗礁的危险。----谢冰莹《海恋》
I am even more fascinated by the lighthouse standing in the middle of the middle of the sea. My hat off to the lighthouse keeper for drudging at the tedious task of providing ships with a flashing light lest they should run up on rocks in the dark sea!
----I Love the Sea (张培基， 2003:131)
Punctuations in the original text are 8, while the 8 were dealt with by 2 in the translation which reflected the brilliant translation skill of the translator.
All in all, all the literary works have a kind of literary mood and atmosphere; this mood and the atmosphere is expressed by the author out of work ethos, aesthetic inclination and constitute the core of works beauty. The same is true of prose; a prose writer of each article will express their thoughts and feelings in the personal language from the unique perspective, which also create their own unique style. Therefore, the translators not only have a thorough understanding of the spiritual essence of the original in the ideological sense, but that of its aesthetic appreciation; in the process of literary translation, translator should maintain and reproduce the original mood, atmosphere and style charm, making the translation keep the original beauty and charm. In the translation of these six prose of Xie Bingying, Mr. Zhang Peiji translation cleverly used the translation skills at different levels of vocabulary, sentence land paragraph do with the original, not only accurately conveying the original content, but also successfully reproducing the original flavor and style. 4.2.4 Sound Beauty
The Phonetic characteristics of prose are not so prominent like that of poem and verse but prose writers sometimes will adopt some devises at phonetic level to add more literary appearl to it. Zhang Peiji is quite aware of the aesthetic value of the original at phonetic level and skillfully handles the sound features so as to represent the aesthetic value in his translation. The following are some good examples involving rhetoric devices at phonetic level in his translation.
4.2.4.1 Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is a word or a grouping of words that imitate the sound it is describing. The use of this rhetoric device can make the description more vivid and life-like, and so more audibly appealing to the readers. However, the onomatopoeic words in Chinese and in English are sometimes quite different from each other, so the handling of them may pose a big challenge to the translator. Let’s see how Zhang Peiji renders the original onomatopoeic words in an effort to represent the beauty of sound in his translation. Example 27
母鸡们咯咯咯地叫起来了，鸡雏们也啁啁地争食起来了。 ----郭沫若《夕暮》
At the clucking of the hens, the chicks scrambled for the feed, chirping. ----Dusk (张培基 1999：123)
In the original sentence, the key aesthetic objects involve such reduplicated onomatopoeias like “咯咯咯” and “啁啁”which imitate the continuous sound of hens and chicks, thus describing vividly a scene of liveliness of hens clucking and chicks scrambling for food. In the translated text, Zhang Peiji tries to represent the aesthetic value of the original aesthetic object by using such corresponding onomatopoeias as “clucking” and “chirping” to indicate the
continuous sound of the hens and chicks and liveliness of the scene and could hear the sound of hens! Example 28
一个身穿和服的中年男人，叫上穿着木屐，“提塔提塔”的来 ----庐隐《异国秋思》
Then we noticed a middle-aged man in kimpono and clogs clattering up to eye us closely. ----Autumn in a Foreign Land (张培基 2003：)
In the original, the author adopts the reduplicated onomatopoeic word “提塔提塔”to imitate the sound of clogs which reminds us of the continuous movement of a man walking in clog. In the target text, Zhang Peiji flexibly renders the original sound of clogs into “clattering” in continuous tense, which means “continuous noise of hard objects falling or knocking against each other”, which represents vividly the scene of a man walking towards us in clogs, and the action of the man is faithfully represented. Example 29
“咣咣”黑色的，半尺厚的灵柩盖子压上去。 ----萧红《祖父死了的时候》
Bang, bang! The 7-inch-thick black coffin lid was put in place.
----When Grandpa Died (张培基 2003: 221)
In this version, Zhang Peiji chooses the onomatopoeic word “bang” to imitate the sound of closing the coffin in the original, the reduplicates it, indicating not only loudness of the sound, but also its power and strength. The acoustic effect of this reduplicated onomatopoeia is so impressive that is seems to be audible to the readers. 4.2.4.2 Alliteration and End Rhyme
Alliteration is the repeated occurrence of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in the same phrase. It is frequently used not only in poems but also in prose since it could make the text beautiful in sound. In order words, it carries formal aesthetic values which appeal to our ears. Zhang Peiji skillfully makes use of this device in his translation. As a result, his versions appear to be so acoustically impressive. Look at the following examples. Example 30
连夜雨雪，一点星光都看不见 ----冰心《雨雪时候的星辰》
It had been snowing all night, not a single star in sight. ----Stars on a Snowy Night (张培基 1999:131)
The sentence in the original text is rather simple in language describing a dark and lonely night without any star in the sky. In the process of aesthetic improvement in his translation, Zhang Peiji wisely adopts the device of alliteration to represent the original scene, not only creating the same atmosphere of the original but also making the target text beautiful in sound and appeal to our ears. Example 31
在八千多日的匆匆里，除徘徊外，又剩些什么呢？ ----朱自清《匆匆》
What have I been doing during the 8,000 fleeting days except of wavering and wandering? ----Transient Days (张培基 1999:76)
The word “徘徊” in the original is a “disyllabic binding word” （连绵字） which shares the same vowel very pleasing to our ears. Zhang Peijij renders it into “wavering and wandering” by using the device of alliteration and end rhyme echoing with the preceding word “fleeting” to describe the lingering flavor of the original word. As a result, the translation sounds as favorable to the ears as the original helping to reproduce the formal aesthetic value of the original successfully. 4.2.5 Cultural Elements
Cultural factors if not handled properly, it will become an obstacle to understanding. For the prose, any ingredients hard to understanding should be removed. Mr. Zhang Peiji used amplification, paraphrase, etc. to eliminate these obstacles. For example: Example 32
有时也兼做点农作，芒种的时节，便帮人家插秧？ ----柔石《为奴隶的母亲》
Sometimes he also worked in the fields; early each summer he turned farm—hand?
----A Slave Mother (张培基 1999:436)
Grain in Ear is one of the 24 solar terms, literal translation must add the explanation, otherwise it will make people misunderstand, and free translation is concise. Example 33
“可是想要结婚，第一要有钱，第二要有闲，第三要有职，这潘驴……的五个条件，却也很不容易办到。” ----郁达夫《谈结婚》
But, to get married, you need to have five prerequisites, namely, money, leisure, employment, “good looks and potentness”, of which all are not always available. ----A Chat about Marriage (张培基 1999；220)
“潘驴” is short for “潘安的貌” and “驴大行货” which are rarely known. So “潘驴” is translated as “good looks and potentness”, which is easy for readers to understand. Example 34
那真是祖宗三代的楣都要倒尽，那里还有什么“官人请！娘子请！”的唱随之乐可说呢？ ----郁达夫《谈结婚》
With such a terrible misfortune befalling your family, how could you still have wedded bliss to speak of?
----A Chat about Marriage (张培基 1999；220)
“官人请！娘子请” is a typical example of the pleasures of the boudoir in Chinese culture, if literally translated, the West will be unsure of its meaning. Generic term is used to overcome the cultural differences. Example 35
他姓差，名不多。
----胡适《差不多先生》
His surname is Cha and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean “About the Same”. ----Mr. about-the-Same (张培基 1999；21)
The addition method of the sentence translation supplement the meaning of the Chinese “差不多”, the target language readers can understand the contents of the article centers. Cultural factors can be reasonably treated to access to the target language by the way in which the reader can understand. It also played an significant role in the preservation of prose “simple”
style.
4.2.6 Notes
The purpose of the translation is to help the target reader gain access to the source language information and to understand the source language culture. However, in the process of translation, the translator has to face the language and culture brought about by factors such as the translation barrier. The following discusses one processing method to eliminate the barriers translation—Notes. In academic writing, notes often appears as folder, footnotes, endnotes and other forms, notes should be included in the necessary work in the translation, Lu Xun frequently added notes in his translation, and often cost a lot of time to check books for a note. The followings are the discussion of subjectivity from the notes of Zhang’s translation from three perspectives of notes for difficult language points, notes for translation strategy and notes for culture background.
4.2.6.1 Notes for Different Language Points
Scholastic translators are the trends of translation today; but some translators mistake it that scholastic means the study of translation theory translating and writing in parallel. In fact, this view is not complete; for the translator, the study of translation theory is important, but the objects of translation can be more important. 1. Choice of Words
Peter Newmad pointed out that in translation practice the chapter is the final unit for accessing the quality, the sentence is the basic operating units, and most of the problems are concentrated in the vocabulary translation. Although the unit of Chinese to English is sentence, but the translator’s understanding of words and expressions are the bases for text translation. The term is small, but it can reflect the translator’s understanding and his grasp of words. Example 36
父亲又嘱托茶房好好照应我。我心里暗笑他的迂；他们只认得我，托他们直是白托！ ----朱自清《背影》
He also asked the train attendants to take good care of me. I sniggered at her for being so impractical, for it was utterly useless to entrust me to those attendants, who cared for nothing but money.
----The Sight of Father’s Back (张培基 1999；67)
Usually, we translate “迂” into “wordy” referring to the verbose, but here, Zhang’s choice of word if for impractical in order to make it easier to understand for the reader, and also adds notes for the translation; “迂”in the text refers to impractical or without sightseeing according to the context. In the text, “I” don’t think father is wordy, but think that it was useless to talk to those whose eyes can only see money. In son’s eyes, his father has no idea at all for such man and what he did is the proof for his unknowing. One choice of word fully reflects the translator’s understanding and comprehension for the original. Example 37
1911年，在一个小县城里边，我生在一个小地主的家里。 ----萧红《永远的憧憬与追求》
In 1911，I was born into a petty Landlord family in a remote county town. ----My Everlasting Dream and Pursuit (张培基 1999；225)
Distinction of meaning is the basic for translation, it is difficult to accurately express the original meaning of the article, in this article, the translator translated the “小” in “小地主”
as “petty”, from the notes of the translation, we can find the translator has a thorough understanding of the original. Of this sentence, “小”in “小地主” implies the author’s mockery for the indifference and greed for his father, petty has the meaning of “stingy”, bringing out the born poor environment of the writer’s born. If we use the more common words, such as small, on the surface equivalent with the original, but rather plain and tedious cannot give the association because of the lack of literary talent. 2. Use of Idioms
Mr. Zhang has a profound study of English idioms and tries to translate the idioms for idioms to the greatest extent in his translation, of the original four characters were translated with the authentic ones and some by concise phrases appropriately. Zhang Peiji used the notes to help the reader understand in dealing with some of the translation of idioms. Example 38
从今以后，你们可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了。----胡适《不要抛弃学问》 From now on you are free to follow your own bent in the choice of studies.
----Never Give up the Pursuit of Learning (张培基 1999；29)
In the notes of the translation, the translator told the reader that “to follow one’s bent” is an idiom which means to do what I would like to do, although we can translate “依自己的心愿” into “to follow one’s desire or wish”. Nothing is wrong with the grammar and meaning, but “to follow one’s bent” is more consistent with the language habit of English. These notes fully reflect the accurate grasp of the translator. Example 39
虽说当的钱少，可是有愿意吃包子，那么结果很满足。——萧红《当铺》 The money was too little; so that all’s well that ends well. ----The Pawnshop (张培基 1999；237)
“Pawnshop” describes the hard experiences of the author’s childhood, in the notes translator explained that “all’s well that ends well” is an English idiom with the meaning of “有了好结果就行了” which is unfamiliar to the Chinese readers, if without the notes, the reader won’t understand it, therefore the notes here is appropriately natural. 3. Application of Color Words
According to scientific statistics, there are about more than seventy thousand kinds of colors words in English can identify, in English the words for color is limited; how to deal with the color words, let us look at the following translation of Mr. Zhang Peiji. Example 40
蔷薇的花色还是鲜艳的，一朵紫色，一朵嫩红，一朵是病黄的象牙色中带点血晕。 ---郭沫若《路畔的蔷薇》
They (roses) were still fresh in color. One was purplish red, another pink, still another sickly ivory-yellow slightly tinged with blood-red. ----Wayside Roses (张培基 1999；158)
Translator in dealing with the four color words of the original is handy. A sickly ivory-yellow slightly tinged with blood-red is not only faithful to the original but elegant and concise in language expression “病” in the original refers to “病态”， translator used sickly to express, which is more concise than “unhealthy”. In the notes of translation, translator mentioned that “ivory-yellow” and “blood-red” appear in the form of matching thing and color authentically, which is more welcomed and pleasantly accepted expression to the readers taking English as
the native language. Similarly, in Bin Xin’s prose of “The Land of My Ancestor”, in dealing with the phrase of “青山碧水”, Zhang translated it into “sapphire mountains and emerald rivers”. Zhang pointed in his notes that “sapphire” and “emerald” are color words for objects and the rhetoric effect was added in the translation. The notes help the reader appreciate the translated version more deeply; meanwhile, it reflects the great common of language of the author. As a qualified translator, he should not only translate the words of the original writer but also know the cause and reason for his writing which is fully proved by the notes of Zhang Peiji’s translation.
4.2.6.2 Notes of Cultural Backgrounds
The translator’s understanding and grasp for the original include two aspects: one is the understanding of the meaning of the original language; the other is the knowledge grasp aside from the original language. Therefore, a competent translator should also have a rich history, geography, social and cultural history, customs and even the music fashion, art and other aspects of knowledge as much possible as he can in order to have a deep cultural cultivation, extensive cultural knowledge. For example, in the prose “A Slave Mother” of Rou Shi, the author mentioned the Chinese tranditional solar term “芒种”; in the prose “Love is not a game” appears the Buddhist terms of “涅槃”“三界”； In the prose “the mother recalled”, there are some historical terms, such as the “New Army”, “Alliance” as well as some other geographical terms such as “Zhili”, “Wu Yixiang”, the author through the notes help readers understand more accurately the article background. Annotation and filling services are for the reader, but there are general and specialized readers, the difference between domestic and foreign, thus when filling in the Annotation we should note these differences and make additions and deletions. That whether the note is needed or not and how to make the word choice and the length of detail are decided according to the specific audience in front of the translator. Mr. Zhang Peiji when dealing with the notes takes full account of this. Lao She’s prose “fond memories of Peiping” is a warm tribute to Peking filled with strong patriotism and national pride. In the article includes one sentence: “真愿成为诗人，把一切好听好看的字都浸在自己的心血里，像杜鹃似地啼出北平的俊伟”. Zhang Peiji when dealing with the translation added notes for the word “杜鹃”. We know that if given the “cuckoo” endorsement, you can say a lot of content. The translator only appropriately mentioned the story of “杜鹃啼血”, which is consistent with the original meaning of convergence and at the same time enrich the reader’s understanding. Therefore, the same content facing different contexts and readers should have different notes, which fully reflects the translator’s own cultural accomplishment. Translation notes are small, but the effect is huge. Annotation as a means of expression for the original understanding is bound to reflect the level of translator’s language and cultural training. Mr. Zhang Peiji set an example for us. 4.2.7 Application of Translation Strategy 4.2.7.1 Addition and Omission
Addition and omission are the commonly seen translation methods which were used together or respectively in Zhang’s translation in order to be more smooth and concise of translation. Example 41
墙里常是人家的竹园，修竹森森，天籁细细；春天是常有几枝娇艳的桃花杏花，娉娉婷婷，从墙头殷勤地摇曳红袖，向行人招手。----柯灵《巷》
Inside the walls are residents’ gardens with dense groves of tall bamboos as well as soft sounds
of nature. In spring, beautiful peach and apricot blossoms adopt the walls, like graceful girl’s waving their red sleeves, will sway hospitably to beckon pedestrians.
----The “overlapping” of the rhetorical devices in this idyllic prose was used many times in a row “淼淼” “细细” “娉娉婷婷” which are not easily translated. Readers can know from the notes of the translation the translated version does not adhere to the form of overlapping but to the grasp of the whole text and distribute or divert the charm of “overlapping” into related words, pursuing the whole effect by using the simple and concise method appropriately. Example 42
昨晚上甜蜜的私语，今朝的冷清的露珠。 ----郭沫若《路畔的蔷薇》
Last night’s whispers of love; this morning’s drops of cold dew
----Wayside Roses (张培基 1999；158)
The methods of addition and omission were used complementarily to achieve the “no” in the translation, for example, “Love” ; and let go of the “yes”, for example: “sweet” fulfills the perfect unity in the semantic surface. 4.2.7.2 Conversion
Zhang Peiji has ever said that in practical translation translator should not translate mechanically and literally to achieve not only the faithfulness but the correspondence of the language rules, and change some parts of speech appropriately to convert the word class of the original into another. Example 50
巷，是城市建筑艺术中一篇飘逸恬静的散文，一篇古雅冲淡的图画。 ----柯灵《巷》
The lane, in the terms of the art of the urban architecture, is like a piece of prose of gentle gracefulness or a painting of classic elegance and simplicity. ---The Lane (张培基 1999：348)
This is the first sentence in the prose in which “飘逸恬静” and “古雅冲淡” at the first sight are not easily grasped in its exact meaning. Translator skillfully use a couple of abstract phrases of “gentle gracefulness” and “classic elegance and simplicity” separately reproducing the original. Translator explained in the notes that “gentle gracefulness” is the conversion of the original two parallel adjective “elegant” “quiet” to “attribute + abstract noun,” form with the same content, which is the common method of literary translation. The translator adopted the same method for the phrases of the latter part “阴森和肃杀” into “gloomy sternness”. The notes help the reader to further understand the charm of the translation. In practical translation the notes for translation skills are rarely seen. As a translator, if not having a thorough grasp of translation skills and extensive knowledge, he would not absolutely tell readers why the words were so translated, which is a high challenge for the translator. Zhang Peiji can do this dependent on his deep understanding of language and his diligent research of translation skills. Chapter Ⅴ CONCLUSION
5.1 Major Findings
Zhang Peiji has long been regarded as the representative on the translation of modern Chinese
essays and his masterpieces----the three volumes of Selected Modern Chinese set a good example on how to translate modern Chinese essays. On the basis of the theory of translator’s subjectivity, this thesis investigated the translator’s role in the dynamic process of translation by taking Zhang Peiji’s prose translation of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings as a case study from two aspects: the macro level and the micro level. The former refers to the factors which are beyond translation process, such as the selection of source text, translation purpose and so on. In the process of selecting the source material, a translator will use his subjectivity to choose those materials which he is interested or those which can reflect his translation purpose. The selection of translation strategies is also determined by the translator’s purpose and intended function of the target text. The latter is mainly focused on the translation process which includes the understanding and expressing of the source text. The process of understanding, the translator’s subjectivity plays its role. Because of different culture background, education degree, and aesthetic faculty, different translators will have different understanding even if they are translating the same material. Their subjectivities will influence, or in other words, control them during the whole process of understanding. Through the examination of some typical examples, the author explores how Zhang Peiji skillfully reproduces the value of the original and thus achieves the representation through a variety of means, such as flexibly changing the original structure to meet the target text and making up for the loss of some cultural element in the original text; keeping the original structure etc. Through the analysis and illustrations from different aspects, the author comes to the conclusion that Zhang Peiji successfully represents the value of the original in his translation and Prof. Zhang as a translator closely combines his translation theory and practice together. The obstruction of the translator in translation practice from subjectivity does exist.
From above, it is safe to draw such conclusions: (1) the translator’s subjectivity is one of the most important factors affecting the outcome of translation practice. (2) The new and reasonable way to explain Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation is from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. The obstruction of the translator from subjectivity in translation practice does exist in his translation. (3) The study on Chinese translators has many blanks to fill up.
5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study
This thesis intends to study the artistic characteristics of Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from the perspective of the translator’s subjectivity. There is much room for further improvement and exploration. For example: in the course of translation, the translator must bear some constraints on him. Space limit has demanded the omission of this exploration. More attention should be paid to the research on Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from different perspective. We believe that the systematic study of translators and its subjectivity can improve the development of translation practice and theoretical study. It is a topic deserving endless research. With these researches and more researchers and scholars’ efforts, the study on Prof. Zhang Peiji’s prose translation and the studies on the translator’s subjectivity will be further deepened and broadened.
On the whole, my research on the Zhang Peiji’s prose translation from the perspective of subjectivity is only a preliminary one. Thought I have analyzed a working definition of the translator’s subjectivities and illustrated the manifestation of Zhang Peiji’s prose translation, and tried to elucidate them by means of theoretic exploration and ease studies, this topic still
need further investigation both in depth and width. Needless to say, in those issues I have covered, there must be some aspects that need further clarification and research. It is hoped that more attention will be paid to the issue of Zhang Peiji’s prose translation, so that a fuller and more penetrating understanding of his activity of his activity of translation can be achieved.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bassnett, Susan & Lefevere, Andre. Constructing Cultures Essays on Literary Translation Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001 Bassnett, Susan.
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