A Study On The Translation Of American Literary Works In China Between 1949 And 1966 From The Perspective Of Polysystem Theory

Polysystem Theory proposed by Itamar Even-Zohar has made tremendous contribution to the translation studies. Many Chinese scholars have tried to adopt Polysystem Theory to explain translation activities of China in a specific historical period, which greatly expanded the horizons of the translators. Polysystem Theory regards a variety of social symbols as a larger, open and dynamic system made up by many sub-systems. As a part of the larger cultural system, the development and changes of the translated literature are influenced by other factors within the system. Meanwhile, Translation Norms, as well as the Rewriting Theory, further promote the development of translation studies. Based on Polysystem Theory, this thesis studied Chinese translation of American literary works between 1949 and 1966 completely.The author finds that the translation of American literary works in China has its unique characteristics: uneven development, diversity of genres, particularity of the classification, and stringency of the selection of the works. These characteristics are closely related to the specific social and cultural background. From the perspective of Polysystem Theory, the position of translated literature in the literary system and translation norms is influenced by the mainstream ideology.In conclusion, on one hand, we can have a profound understanding of the translation of American literary works in China between 1949 and 1966 and know that the specific phenomenon took place inevitably. Because of the specific social and cultural background, the translation of American literary works in China is influenced by the mainstream ideology to some great extent. As a socialist country, the whole China regards Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought as its mainstream ideology. The works which are in line with the mainstream ideology are widely translated and vice versa. On the other hand, we can further clarify the significance and limitations of Polysystem Theory on explaining the foreign literary translation in China. It ignores some factors, such as the translators’ subjectivity, which make the literary translation have distinctive class character.