An Analysis Of The Translation Of The Three-body Problem From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

Science fiction is a genre that originated in western cultures,and it has had a sound development and enjoys large armies of loyal readers,which renders penetration into the western market a daunting task for SF works of non-English speaking countries.The Three-body Problem written by Chinese SF writer Liu Cixin is well received in the overseas market and its widespread recognition in the international field of science fiction is virtually an earthshaking event in the history of Chinese science fiction.Therefore,the enormously successful translation of The Three-body Problem deserves serious academic attention.Existing researches of the translation of The Three-body Problem have observed the subject from different perspectives but seem to have failed to conduct a systematic study of the translation in light of the real target readers,as is done in this thesis.This thesis gives an elaborate investigation of Ken Liu's translation of The Three-body Problem from the perspective of Reception Theory.On the basis of four core concepts of Reception Theory,namely the horizon of expectations,the fusion of horizons,aesthetic distance and indeterminacy,this paper seeks to demonstrate Ken Liu's consideration for target language readership in the course of translating and how he strives to achieve the reception and comprehension of the translated text among target audience.When it comes to the translation of rhetoric devices,idiomatic expressions as well as appellation of characters in the book,Ken Liu tries his best to render in a way that does not challenge the horizon of expectations of TL readers.In the transference of an abundance of the Culture Revolution-related scenes,scientific terms as well as neologisms created by the author of the source text,Ken Liu works hard to make the translated text comprehensible to the reader as much as possible,achieving the fusion of horizons between the TL audience and the source text.In handling the translation of traditional Chinese culture-loaded words,the translator endeavors to maintain an appropriate aesthetic distance between the translated text and TL readers,aiming at appealing to readers in the process of reception instead of discouraging them from reading.With respects to indeterminacy inherent in the historical facts and allusions of the source text,Ken Liu's translating strategies are based upon the receptivity of TL readers by concretizing or retaining the indeterminacy correspondingly.Built upon a meticulous analysis of the translated text,the author discovers that the translator of SF works should try his utmost to take full account of the TL reader as is demonstrated in Ken Liu's rendering of The Three-body Problem for the reception and understanding of the translated text among TL readership are essential in judging whether a translated text is successful or not.In accordance with exhaustive and detailed translation discussions presented in this paper,it can be concluded that the application of Reception Theory to the translation practice of science fiction are viable and the proactive role that TL readers have played in the process of translation should be worthy of the translator's cogitation.