Study Of Eileen Chang’s Self-translation Novel The Rice-sprout Song: A Manipulative Perspective

The Rice-Sprout Song is Eileen Chang’s first English novel patronized by UnitedStates Information Agency based in Hong Kong (USIA). It was published in1955byCharles Scribner’s Sons with the help of Richard M. McCarthy who was in charge ofUSIA at that time. Later Eileen Chang translated the novel into Chinese by herself with thetitle of Yangge(《秧歌》). The Chinese version was published in1954by World Today, amagazine under USIA.This research takes Andre Lefevere’s Manipulation Theory as its main theory frame.It analyzes Yangge in terms of Lefevere’s Patronage, Ideology and Poetics, and shows howthese three factors manipulate the Chinese version. On the other hand, the target readersplay an important role, too. The original novel and the translated one are meant to differentreaders. The target readers of the translated one Yangge are readers mainly in Hong Kong,Taiwan and Southeast Asia. When translating, Eileen Chang takes into account USIA’spolitical task and power struggle between Left and Right wings in Hong Kong during1950s, and takes her own political stand as well, hence she manipulates Yanggeideologically. Meanwhile, through translation Eileen Chang continues her characteristicalportrait of desolation and Feminism.This research can help us understand better Eileen Chang’s Yangge as a translatednovel, deepen our research on Eileen Chang as a translator, and provide an interesting casestudy for self-translation.