Translated Abstract
Feminist translation theory is the product of feminism movement and translation studies in the 1970s. It aims to reinterpret relations between the original text and its translated version as well as the writer and the translator, namely, to redefine the meaning of “fidelity” and to emphasize the translator’s subjectivity from the view of feminism. Feminist translators adopt translation strategies like supplementing, prefacing and footnoting and hijacking to reveal the female identity and obtain women’s discourse right.
Chinese female writer Xiao Hong’s literary work Sheng Si Chang is mainly translated by the famous American sinologist Howard Goldblatt. It’s a fragmentary portrait of peasants’ daily lives, especially women’s suffering and struggling in northeast China before and after the advent of Anti-Japanese war. As the novel is characterized with distinct feminism features, this thesis decides to explore the images of female characters reconstructed in its English translation from the perspective of feminist translation theory. Such a new angle on the study of a foreigner’s translation of Chinese literature will offer some useful experience and suggestions on the remolding of Chinese literary figures in the eyes of western readers. Meanwhile, it may give inspiration to the translation work of modern and contemporary Chinese literature and do some contributions to promoting its “going out” strategy.
The study is conducted from two interwoven aspects: the exploration of translator’s feminist awareness reflected in translated version and the analysis of reconstructing female characters in translation. After a detailed research on translation, the author gets the following findings. First, the translator uses some positive words or phrases as well as some translation strategies advocated by feminist translation theory to rewrite the original information and demonstrate feminist consciousness. Second, the translator successfully reproduces women’s inhuman tortures in patriarchal society and emphasizes their rebelling spirits, reconstructing many female characters struggling in disasters. Thus it’s clear to see that the translation adopts the intervention of feminist translation to some extent, which has already affected the reconstruction of characters. It is particularly reflected in the highlight of heroines’ feminine features and the eulogy of their awakening female consciousness.
Corresponding authors email
