A Study On The Construction Force Of Rewriting

The May Fourth Era witnessed a boom of the flush of foreign literature while confronting withcultural transformation. In introducing foreign writers and their works, various forms of rewriting werelargely practiced by intellectuals─Just as what Andre Lefevere indicates in his rewriting theory, besidestranslation in its narrow sense, the various rewriting forms such as literary review, biography, imitation,etc., i.e. translation in its broad sense, are also important means for inter-lingual communication. The MayFourth reformers relied much on the various forms of rewriting to introduce and localize foreign writersand their works due to the domestic cultural needs, and accordingly, their rewriting played a vital role inconstructing the image of the writers and the new literature in the target culture, from which process wecan see obviously some kind of construction force that rewriting possesses.Lev Tolstoy, a greatest writer of Russia and Europe, was favored very much by the May Fourthcultural elites and intellectuals. His works were introduced into China in various forms in large amount,and both he and his works had exerted a great influence to the then Chinese literature and culture. Thestudy found that it is mainly through rewriting forms like literary review, criticism and biographythatTolstoy initially came into view of Chinese readers, and also, Mao Dun’s imitation Midnight─anotherrewriting form─bestillustratesTolstoy’s contributions to the construction of the new Chinese literature andculture. All these rewriting forms were very common in the May Fourth Era in introducing foreign writersand their works.By analyzing Tolstoy’s case withinthe scope of the rewriting theory, this thesis argues thatrewriting has a great construction force thus played a vital role in the social transformation of the MayFourth Era.With Lefevere’s rewriting theory and the May Fourth cultural elites’ rewriting of Tolstoy as the case example, this thesis willconduct a study on the construction force of rewriting. And the discussion of theconstruction force of rewriting will be developed mainly from the following two aspects: firstly, rewritingconstructsthe writers’ fame─rewriting like literary review made by the May Fourth cultural elites andintellectuals, results in the change of Tolstoy’s reputation due to their different pursuits at differenthistorical stages, say the pursuit of enlightenment and the pursuit of saving the nation; secondly, rewritingconstructs the new literature─rewriting like Mao Dun’s imitation Midnight best illustrates Tolstoy’scontributions to the construction of the new literature, ie.domestic writers practiced Tolstoy’s realisticwriting style and thehumanism concern therein in a creative way.