| Children’s literature lacks attention in both daily life and academic studies by comparison with adult literature.Nevertheless,it is as or even more significant for its educational value.Likewise,translated literature is often disadvantaged compared to national literature,despite the role it plays in cultural communication.The dual marginalization of children’s literature and translated literature suggests the peripheral position of translated children’s literature.This thesis deals with the situation of translated Chinese children’s literature in the English world.Data show that Bronze and Sunflower,originally by Chinese author Cao Wenxuan,is the most read and popular translated Chinese children’s book in the English world.It tells a beautiful and moving story about the growth of two children living in Chinese rural areas in the 1960s.Translated by Helen Wang,it got published in England in 2015.In 2016 Cao Wenxuan was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his literary achievements.Helen Wang received the 2017 Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation for her excellent work with Bronze and Sunflower.This thesis starts with the peripheral position of translated Chinese children’s literature in the target society and takes advantage of Itamar Even-Zohar’s Polysystem Theory as the theoretical framework.It aims to answer the key question:how and to what extent does the peripheral position of translated Chinese children’s literature influence the translation,dissemination as well as acceptance of Bronze and Sunflower?Here are the major findings:in Helen Wang’s translation of Bronze and Sunflower,the translation strategy of domestication is prioritized,which is in accord with what Polysystem Theory suggests—when translated literature occupies a peripheral position,the translator tends to borrow ready-made models in her home repertoire,thus adopting domestication.Nonetheless,Helen Wang also adopts the foreignization strategy and exerts her subjectivity when it comes to translating culture-specific elements.This research also finds that the dissemination of this book is largely influenced by the peripheral position of translated Chinese children’s literature.This can be reflected in three aspects.First of all,the publisher and the translator are from the target society;second,the introduction is not proactive,and the choice of the book caters to the canonized expectation of target readers;third,communication channels could be more plural,and there is need for better dissemination.Finally,it is found that among Chinese-English children’s literary works,Bronze and Sunflower has an extraordinary acceptance;in addition,its acceptance reaches the average level of award-winning translations from different cultures but still has room for improvement.This thesis consists of five chapters:Chapter One includes the research background,an introduction to Cao Wenxuan and his Qing Tong Kui Hua as well as the thesis structure.Chapter Two reviews previous studies and introduces the theoretical framework.Chapter Three first exemplifies the adoption of translation strategies,and then,by giving data,reveals the dissemination and acceptance conditions of Bronze and Sunflower.Chapter Four analyzes the polysystemic causes of the peripheral position.Causes include established norms of the ideological system,profit-making orientation of the economic system and canonized expectation of the target literary system.Chapter Five is conclusion.This thesis endeavors to elaborate on how the target systems and the peripheral translated Chinese children’s literature exert influences on translation,dissemination and acceptance of Bronze and Sunflower,respectively.It is a meaningful exploration of Cao Wenxuan’s works as well as the translation and dissemination of Chinese children’s literature. |
