A Tentative Study Of Ying Ruocheng's Translation Of Teahouse In The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

Drama translation is an important part of literaturary translation. Since the turn of the new century, researchers both at home and abroad have paid more and more attention to drama translation theory and practice. Ying Ruocheng with his special identities as director, actor and translator is the type of ideal drama translator. As an actor he has successively created different roles in such drama performances as the Dragon Beard Ditch, Thunderstorm, Camel Xiangzi, the Death of a Salesman and so on. Besides these, he has recommended, translated, played and directed a large number of foreign dramas, such as God's Pet, Mutiny, Major Barbara, and so on which had achieved very good effect, and has showed the extensive knowledge range of a translator and the flexibility of an actor. In his drama translation practice, he has formed his own theoretical thinking and strategies about drama translation; besides these, his translation has distinct styles: colloquial drama language, simplicity, gestuality and individuality. He provided a powerful foundation for the drama translation. Based on the Manipulation Theory, this thesis selected Teahouse translated by Ying Ruocheng to analyze and understand its explanatory power in studies of drama translation.In the view of Lefevere, translation is a subsystem in cultural system, which usually interacts with other subsystems. Translation is manipulated by three factors: ideology, poetics and patronage, which are restrict the process of rewriting in the certain historical and cultural environment. This theory with a descriptive research method focuses on describing the phenomenon of translation and tries to expose the potentials that can influence the phenomenon of translation in a macro context. Based on the Manipulation Theory, through investigating the environmental factors concerning Ying's drama translation, including his social and cultural backgrounds, his experiences as an actor and director, and the expectations of the target audience, the paper pointed out that the translator was manipulated by ideology, poetics and patronage in translation. The text selection and the use of strategies in Ying Ruocheng's translation of Teahouse revealed the cultural poetics and thematic features of drama translation.The body of the thesis was divided into four chapters apart from the introduction and the conclusion. Introduction elaborates the research background, purpose and meaning, content and methods as well as the innovations and deficiencies of the research. The first part was the literature review which reviewed the research situations of the Manipulation Theory, Ying Ruocheng and the translation of Teahouse at home and abroad. The second part described the situation of Teahouse and its English translation, including its author, content, historical status, textual characteristics, and the English versions. The third part was the theoretical framework. It systematically explained the definition of Manipulation Theory and its three factors, and then analyzed the feasibility of English translation of Teahouse from the perspective of the theory. The fourth chapter is the main part. Based on the Manipulation Theory, the author made an analysis in detail to reveal how ideology, poetics and patronage respectively exerted their influences on the candidate text selection, the translation process, theme demonstration, characters' portraying, the conception of plot and their translation strategies. The last part is the conclusion in which the author summarized the whole thesis and then put forward her views: on the one hand ideology, poetics and patronage manipulated the behavior of translator in process of translation, which also proved that the cultural Manipulation Theory of Lefevere can play the role of guidance and reference in translation studies of drama. On the other hand the creation of drama and drama translation need to consider comprehensively the dramatic peculiarity. It's not only necessary to ensure the literariness of dramatic translation to shape the typical image and convey the profound theme, but also necessary to take the orality, instantaneity and popularity of stage performances into account as to create favorable conditions for stage performances and the acceptance of audience.