A Report On The Translation Of Journeys In North China (Chapter 8-9) And Life Among The Chinese (Chapter 19)

This report is a review on the translation of Journeys in North China (Chapter 8-9) and Life among the Chinese (Chapter 19) recommended by my supervisor. The two books are respectively written by Alexander Williamson and R. S. Maclay, and the material selection is a very important part of the two books. The respective contents of Journeys in North China (Chapter 8-9) and Life among the Chinese (Chapter 19) are Province of Chih-li and Province of Shan-si, and Appeal to the Churches.The purpose of Journeys in North China is to distribute the Chinese "Bible" and other related books and promotional materials in North China. The author's trip includes both treaty ports around the area and remote places, gaining many interesting discoveries such as country's natural appearance, people's character, and important knowledge about some provinces'crops and mineral. Life among the Chinese mainly described how China is in a Christian missionary's eyes, but the author's observation and thinking goes far beyond the scope of missionary work. The book widely narrates Chinese geography, history, diplomacy, religion, government agencies and law etc., and the Chinese psychology and local conditions and customs are also recorded detailedly. Another feature of the book is that the author comprehensively introduced how they preached and taught firmly in Fuzhou, as well as the process of creating churches and schools. Besides, he also mentioned works and view reference of his contemporary preachers many times. Life among the Chinese plays a significant role in discussing the Western preachers took the bull by the horns to adapt to Chinese environment, even at the expense of life safety, but they are always loyal to their missionary work and education, so this book is indeed rarely precious materials.The selected materials are English texts, and the parts of author's translation mainly narrate culture, literature, geography, economy, and society etc., and translation of names, translation of places and narrative translation are my main research directions. The purpose of this translation project is to try to express the original meaning and style on the basis of the text, and to better show the regional cultural structure of China and cultural characteristics of North China, to provide appropriate translations for Chinese readers. Narration and argumentation are the main forms of the selected materials. According to the text features, the author uses Eugene Albert Nida's theory "functional equivalence" to direct translation, and combines literal translation, free translation and various translation methods for translation. Finally, the author draws lessons through analyzing the examples of these translation strategies, and achieves the goal of improving translation ability.In view of the fact that the materials have not been translated, it is hoped that this translated version can provide a suitable translation for domestic readers. Meanwhile, the author also hopes this translation and report are helpful for future studies on China's cultural translation practice.