Newspaper Supplements In The Perspective Of Translation History

As the literary supplement to Shen Bao (known as Shanghai News), the earliest andmost influential commercial newspaper in modern China, Ziyou Tan (literally means“Free Talk”) enjoyed a long tradition of introducing and translating foreign literatures.However, compared with the translation works printed in separate editions or thosepublished in journals of literary societies, the translations in a rich array of newspapersupplements have not been duly recognized in the studies of translation history.After its new editor-in-chief took over and initiated the reform in Dec.1932, ZiyouTan, a previously conservative supplement, started to popularize progressive ideas toinspire its readers. This thesis, in light of the theories and research methods embodiedin descriptive translation studies (DTS), probes into how Ziyou Tan, after its shakeup,changed its course in translation activities, with a special focus on the role of thissupplement as a mass medium. Drawing from a synthesized analysis of the historicaland cultural contexts in the early1930s, the case study sheds light not only on a rangeof translation phenomena in Ziyou Tan, but also on the incentives, motivations and so-cial impact of those translations.With forward-looking editorial policies, Ziyou Tan in19321935attracted a morediverse group of translators who dedicated to the translation works which were nolonger merely for entertaining the general public but for shaping social consciousness.Their translations remarkably displayed “faithfulness” to the original and “lucidity” oflanguage, which partly resulted from the public debates, triggered by Ziyou Tan, overthe construction of China’s “popular language and literature” in the1930s.Taking the case of G. B. Shaw’s visit to Shanghai in Feb.1933and Ziyou Tan’sSpecial Issue devoted to this Nobel Laureate, the last chapter, from a socio-materialperspective, explores the media factors underlying the production, transmission andconsumption of translations. The thesis therefore elaborates on the unique role ofnewspaper supplements in the history of translation.