On The Influence Late Qing Dynasty-translated Fiction Made On Wu Jianren's Fiction Creation

It is increasingly recognized that translated literature, especially translated fiction in the late Qing Dynasty had played an important guiding role in the transformation of Chinese literature. In the process of establishing Chinese modern fiction, home fiction writers turned to the alien fiction for fresh elements. It is under the influence of translated fiction that Wu Jianren's fictions were of a transitional feature of Chinese fiction from traditional to modern times.Based on the theory of ideology and poetics proposed by Andre Lefevere, the thesis gives a detailed analysis of the dominant ideology and poetics in the Late Qing Dynasty and thus explains the characteristics of fiction translation in that period. According to Lefevere, poetics is the controlling factor which regulates translation within the literary system. Once a poetics is codified, it exerts a tremendous system-conforming influence on the further development of a literary system. However, any poetics is temporary; it comes to being in a specific area at a particular historical age and holds its position for a certain period of time. In the late Qing Dynasty, poetics was undergoing tremendous changes under the influence of translated literature-some elements of the formerly codified poetics and some to form a potentially new one existed side by side. Wu's fiction showed the important role translated fiction had played in the codification of a new poetics.Under the influence of translated fiction, Wu made unremitting efforts in narrative and stylistic experimentations. Firstly, translated fiction promoted the innovation of narrative mode in Wu's fiction creation-mainly in narrative point of view and narrative sequence. For the first time in the history of Chinese literature, Wu came up with novels in vernacular that tell stories from the limited point of view of protagonists. This marked a break from the conventional third-person omniscient point of view in novels of Zhanghui style. Wu was adept at and showed much self-consciousness of the limited third-person point of view. In his practical writings, Wu Jianren also made strenuous efforts to transform the traditional linear and chronological narration.Secondly, Wu Jianren used the western literary devices for reference and did some useful experiments in the physical and psychological description. He struck the conventions of traditional Chinese novels in characterization to some extent. Thirdly, Wu was the first to make an attempt in the new form of short story in an initial modern sense. He actually makes a break through the stagnation of Chinese short story.