Rewriting In Literary Translation

For thousands of years, the translation field has been dominated by the spirit "Faithfulness to Source Text". Whether a translation is faithful to the source text is the most important issue, attention was seldom paid enough to the variety in translation . But as a matter of fact, there are many categories and texts of translations. Different text has its own characteristics and we should use different method to translate it. Some scholars in the school of translation studies in the western countries see translation issues in wider perspective of history, society and culture; they faithfully describe and convincingly explain the variety in translation practice.This paper, based on the characteristics of literature and literary translation, indicates that literary translation is a kind of manipulation and rewriting. And the author also provides theoretical support: the skopos theory, Gideon Toury's target—oriented theory and AndréLefevere's rewriting theory.This paper also gives the reasons for rewriting: differences between languages, translator's purpose, and cultural default, translator's deficiency of knowledge and time limitation of author. Then the author puts forward some rewriting methods, such as rewriting of style, rewriting of culture and aesthetic rewriting in the translation of poetry.Methodologically speaking, this paper is a qualitative research. It is data-driven and theory-driven at the same time. As a theoretical research, it is also an explanatory. This paper tries to prove the practicality and necessity of rewriting with theoretical deduction and example analysis. At the end, the author sums up the positive roles of rewriting. First, translation rewriting makes the thought and cultural content of the original more accessible to the reader. Secondly, translator's rewritings can give the original work a second life in the receiving culture. Thirdly, rewriting raises the status of the translator and gets away from the limitations of the term "translation", and it also brings translator's initiative into full play. Lastly, rewriting breaks through the perspectives of traditional translation and widens the view on the study of literary translation.