| The continuous translation of British children’s literature into China since the late Qing Dynasty has had close interaction with Chinese society,culture,and literature,making it a noteworthy event.This dissertation focuses on the history of China’s translation of British children’s literature from the late Qing Dynasty to the early seventeen years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China(1898-1966).A total of 767 translations produced during this period are collected,including those independently published,those in periodicals and newspapers,and those in literary collections.A large amount of historical materials related to the translation process,as well as its dissemination,reception,and influence of these translations are accumulated,such as prefaces and postscripts in the translations,book reviews,advertisements,and adaptations.Drawing on the theories and concepts of the studies of translation,comparative literature,and children’s literature,and adopting methods such as historical analysis and close reading,the author describes and explains in a comprehensive and systematic way the essential features and the general pattern of the context,motivation,target readers,material selection,and strategies concerning the translation of British children’s literature,as well as the dissemination,acceptance,influence,and variation of British children’s literature in China.It is found that in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China,most Chinese had no clear understanding of children’s literature,and their attention to children was country-oriented and adult-centered,with a utilitarian overtone.As a result,the translation of British children’s literature at this time focused mainly on"paternal love" adventure novels,followed by fairy tales.Besides,The target readers were mainly adults and teenagers,and the primary aim was to kindle the readers spirit of independence and adventure.Influenced by the ideologies of national salvation,and traditional poetics and ethical morality,translators frequently adopted methods such as addition,deletion,and substitution to rewrite the original works.During the May Fourth Period,the child-centered view on children’s literature prompted translators to select "maternal love" fairy tales that showcased fantasy and fun for translation,incorporating exposure to reality and education for children into entertainment.Consequently,the translation of adventure novels almost disappeared.It can be easly noticed that the translations were mainly aimed at small children,while teenage readers were not as valued as before.Translators tended to be more faithful to the original work and rarely rewrote the originals under the influence of traditional morality,poetics,and the ideologies of national salvation.Instead,they rewrote the originals in child-oriented manners.From 1927 to the founding of the PRC,children’s literature increasingly shifted towards reality and education.At this time,improving children’s knowledge,and driving them to love their country and resist the invaders were the most common motivations of the translators.As a result,a large number of British "paternal love"adventure novels,fairy tales,and children’s science books that are of educational significance were translated."Maternal love" fairy tales accentuating fantasy and entertainment were criticized,but the need for primary education and the urge to provide children and other readers with "spiritual shelter" still led to quite a few translations of such fairy tales.Faithful to the original works,the translators rewrote only occasionally in a child-oriented approach,and often added prefaces and postscripts to their translations,so as to influence the readers’ understanding of the works,and highlight the educational and motivational function of the translationsAfter the establishment of the PRC,the translation of children’s literature was controlled by the undifferentiated patronage of the government,which resulted into the sharply decreased number of translations of British children’s literature.Those works translated were mostly "paternal love" fairy tales and novels which praised labor and solidarity,encouraged patriotism and internationalism,and opposed capitalism and imperialism.Such translation was carried out with an aim to provide children with communist education.Taking into account both political correctness and translation quality,the translators adopted approaches such as retranslating Soviet translations and adaptations of British children’s literature and adding persuasive paratexts to endorse the legitimacy of their translations.More importantly,they managed to educate the readers,steered their understanding of the text,and thus rewrite the original by adding prefaces,postscripts,and footnotes,allowing deletion and substitution due to ideological reasons and educational needs to occur rather infrequently whthin the translation.It is also found that with numerous translations and adaptations,such as dramas,puppetry,cartoons,British children’s literature enjoyed a wide range of dissemination.These works were not only well received by children,but were also warmly applauded by the circles of children’s literature and children’s education in China,making frequent appearances in research works on children’s literature,as well as elementary and middle school textbooks.British children’s literature certainly exerted a profound impact on Chinese children’s literature,especially in terms of literary themes,images,and frames.On the other hand,British children’s literature also showed some variations in its translation and circulation in China during the years,with many translations becoming more education-oriented,and many Chinese originals inspired by their British counterparts being less religious,exposing harsh realities more thoroughly,and showing affirmation and expectation of the power of the people.Overall,the aim to educate children ran through the nearly seventy years of the translation of British children’s literature in China,working as an important factor affecting the translator’s selection of texts and their translation strategies.Although faithfulness to the original gradually became a norm since the May Fourth period,the identity disparity between the adult translator and the child reader,the aim to educate children,and the practice of active translation still pushed translators to apply childoriented rewriting strategies according to the didactic principle,the pedagogical principle and the entertaining principle,with deletion and substitution as primary methods.In addition,rewriting the original within the translated text was to some extent obviated due to the use of various paratexts,which rewrote the original by influencing the reader’s reading.This dissertation is of significance to the study of China’s history of literary translation and translated literature,for it discovers and explores a large number of translated works and related historical materials,and systematically analyzes the translation,reception,and influence of British children’s literature in China.It is also of practical and theoretical values,for it takes into consideration the particularity of children’s literature and its translation,condenses child-oriented rewriting practices into the three principles,analyzes the functions and significances of paratext in translation,and based on historical facts of translation,repairs the translation theories concerning translation norms and rewriting. |
