A Report On The Translation Of Society In China (Chapter 8 To 11)

Society in China was written by Robert Douglas, a British sinologist who embarked on working in Beijing since 1861. Robert Douglas had worked in China for 6 years. Back then, he sought to communicate with Chinese communities at all levels and closely observed the society in China at that time, thus improving his understanding of what Chinese culture in the late Qing Dynasty was all about. Society in China provides insights into Chinese society from a westerner’s perspective. Robert Douglas offered firsthand materials for the study of the modern history of China, which means that this book is of great importance when it comes to the study of history. As such, the translation and publication of this work will not only lead to more materials for modern history study, but enable us to be aware of how westerners looked at Chinese society in the late Qing Dynasty.There are five chapters in this report. Chapter One introduces the translation project, briefing on how its topic was selected, the content and meaning of this report. Chapter Two is about preparatory work. In this Chapter, the text type of original text is identified and analyzed. Chapter Three introduces the theories cited in this report. With content and features of the original text fully considered, the Skopos Translation Theory and back-translation are resorted to in a way that explores the translation strategy of travel literature. Chapter Four summarizes the translation strategies used in this report, including the way to deal with Wade-Giles and translate words with certain cultural connotations as well as how sentences can be translated. Chapter Five concludes what the author has learned in the process of translation.Guided by the skopos translation theory and back-translation, the author discusses the techniques in tackling difficulties in translation practice, including the translation of attributive clauses, non-finite verbs, passive voice, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs. Alongside that, the reference of parallel texts is discussed.