On Lin Shu's Translation From The Perspective Of Polysystem Theory

Lin Shu is a famous litterateur and translator in the modern Chinese literary history. Hisworks were very important in the literary history. And as a translator he also occupied animportant position in the translation field. Lin Shu is very influential in Chinese translationhistory. He was the first translator who employed classical Chinese in the translation ofWestern novels. His translated works offered the Chinese readers an access to Western novelsfor the first time. They are warmly welcome by the Chinese readers and broadened Chinesereaders'view. His translated fictions had a great influence on some famous writers'writingand translating activities during the May 4th period. Lun Xun, Guo Moruo and some othersare among such writers. Domestication is the main translation strategy in Lin's translationand besides domestication some other translation techniques such as addition, deletion,adaptation and condensation are very common in his translated fictions. Therefore, disputeson the faithfulness of his translations have existed in the academic circle all the time. But theauthor of this thesis holds that as an important translator who had made a great contributionto modern Chinese literary translation and whose translated works are warmly welcomed bythe Chinese readers he must have sensible reasons in forming his unique translation style.Israeli scholar Itamar Even-Zohar brought forth polysystem theory in the 1970s. Heproposed putting translation into a large socio- cultural polysystem for study. This theoryoffers us a new perspective for translation study. He held that as a subsystem of the literarysystem, translated literature coexisted with other systems within a macro socio-culturalpolysystem and which translation strategy or translation technique that translators take areinfluenced by the social culture factors and the position of translated literature in a definitehistorical period. If translated literature occupied the peripheral position within literarypolysytem then translators tend to pay much attention to the acceptability of the translated text in the target culture and translators will adhere to translation norms and translationstrategy which have existed in translation.In the light of the polysystem theory, taking Lin Shu's translated work Ivanhoe as a casestudy, the thesis does a further research on Lin Shu's translation. At last, the thesis gets aconclusion that comparing with the past traditional translation research, polysystem theorycould give a more reasonable explanation on Lin Shu's translation.The thesis is divided into three chapters besides introduction and conclusion.The first section is introduction, which includes the purpose, method and significance ofthe study.Chapter One puts forward a new translation research and elucidates polysystem theoryand its significance on translation research.Chapter Two introduces Lin Shu's translation career and his major translation works.Besides the thesis also give an introduction of Scottor's work Ivanhoe.Chapter Three is the main body of the thesis. This chapter analysis socio-culturalpolysystem and the position of the translated literature in the target culture polysystem at lateQing Dynasty. And then the thesis put forward the translation norms and the main translationstrategies of this time. At last, after analyzing his translation work Ivanhoe point out that LinShu's translation is a historical product.Last section is conclusion.