On The Translation And Commentary Of Selected Works Of "Ordinary World" In Novels

The Ordinary World recorded a crucial period in China’s modern history-the initial phase of reform and opening-up, when people in cities and countryside experienced a unique psychological journey due to social development and economic growth. Ordinary Chinese people’s joys, sweats and tears are vividly kept in this novel. As for western readers, from this book, they can gain some insights into China’s history and ordinary Chinese people’s minds. Furthermore, peoples of different countries have their own history, religion, traditions and social norms, so their differences are inevitably projected into literary works. Translation of those works must be handled with care, or the target readers might misunderstand or underappreciate the source texts, even the cultural and social norms behind them. A good translation of modern realistic novels should convey both aesthetic value and cultural value to the target readers, as much undiluted as possible. The first three chapters of book one were translated according to Nida’s "functional equivalence" theory and Venuti’s "foreignization" proposal. This thesis endeavors to elaborate on the gains and losses in the process of translating The Ordinary World with a hope of shedding some light on the translation strategies translators may employ in their future translating of similar works.