| Chinese literature is gradually going to the world. Howard Goldblatt, as “the foremost translator of modern and contemporary Chinese literature†and the greatest sinologist, has made important contribution to the spread of Chinese literature. Howard Goldblatt has translated and published English versions of more than 50 novels by over 30 Chinese writers, in which Mo Yan’s novels occupy the largest number. Howard Goldblatt has translated and published 10 novels written by Mo Yan since 1993, and his translated works are recognized in the English world; meanwhile, Mo Yan is best known to the West world for his novels.Howard Goldblatt’s translation of Mo Yan’s novels sets a successful example for Chinese literature going out. Although studies on his translation are not few in China, most of them are focused on single versions, and little research has been done in the comprehensive or diachronic research. Most former researchers ignore the fact that both Howard Goldblatt’s translation thoughts and translation strategies have changed and enriched in the past two decades. Taking Red Sorghum, The Republic of Wine and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, the representative translated works of Goldblatt in three different periods, as its study object, this thesis sets out to conduct a descriptive study on them, hoping to answer the following questions: from Red Sorghum to Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, what are the changes in Goldblatt’s translation strategies? Why does Goldblatt make these changes in his translation strategies? What factors account for these changes? Are there any general rules to be discovered about the intercultural transmission of literature? What are the possible enlightenments to be drawn from Goldblatt’s translation experience to Chinese literature going global? Based on relative translation theories, the thesis concludes the regular translation phenomenon during Goldblatt’s translation practice and tries to give an objective description.This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter one provides the research background, research questions, research significance and research methods. Chapter two presents the development and evolution of Howard Goldblatt’s views on translation, and makes a brief introduction to Goldblatt’s translations of Mo Yan’s novels in the past 20 years. Chapter three, four and five, the main body of the thesis, conduct a comparative study on the three translated texts, Red Sorghum, The Republic of Wine and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, analyze the changes in Goldblatt’s translation strategies from aspects of ideological information, culture-loaded expressions and narrative structure, probe into the reasons behind these changes, and then discuss the general readers’ reviews on the translation strategies and the reception for Goldblatt’s translation. The comparative study of the three selected translated works shows that the focus of Goldblatt’s translation endeavor has experienced a gradual shift from target-reader-orientation to source-text-orientation. The change has been influenced by the status of the source text in the target language and readers’ expectation. Chapter six, the conclusion part, reflects on Goldblatt’s successful translation practice in translating Mo Yan’s novels, and draws enlightenment for Chinese literature going global. The author thinks that the translator should have distinctive translation thoughts in his translation practice, pay attention to the status of Chinese works in Western culture and the target reader’s horizon of expectation. Objectively, the government of China should take measures to strengthen cultural exchanges with other countries in order to create a harmonious cultural atmosphere in which Chinese literary could go out. |
