To Counter Or To Pander?

Discourse on translation is an important part of the international academic system However,Chinese discourse on translation is marginalized in the western-centered international translation community.How to promote Chinese discourse on translation to go global and be accepted by the international community has become a thought-provoking issue for Chinese translators and relevant scholarsTaking Martha P.Y.Cheung’s discourse on translation as an example,this paper analyzes her narrative methods that are adopted to promote the communication between the eastern and western discourse on translation and provides suggestions on how to make up the deficiencies of the existing system of Chinese discourse on translation.This paper adopts the method of documentary analysis and collects two types of literature:for one thing,all the papers,translated works,and monographs published by the scholar throughout her academic career are collected to depict what her discourse on translation is and how it is developed;for another,relevant comments on the scholar and her academic achievements published at home and abroad before December 31,2019,are collected to witness how her discourse has been accepted.The study reveals that Martha’s discourse on translation is better accepted by the international academic community,compared with others’ in contemporary China.Therefore,this paper focuses on Martha’s construction of discourse on translation so as to explore the ways and methods that can better promote contemporary Chinese discourse on translation to go internationalIn this paper,Martha’s academic career is divided into three phases:the first phase(1992-1997)was the initial stage of the scholar’s translation studies,when she dedicated herself to traditional literature translation and relevant issues from the textual level:how to translate,what is a good translation,etc.In the second phase(1998-2003),her rich translation practice,the social changes due to Hong Kong’s return to the motherland,and other factors broadened her horizons in translation studies and she turned her attention to the relationship between translation and power.The concept of "discourse",the method of case study,and the philosophical significance of pushing-hands are the three cores in this phase.The third phase(2004-2013)witnessed her emphasis on the re-interpretation of Chinese local materials and the construction of Chinese discourse on translation.This was the time when Martha centered around her creation and compilation of An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation,and wrote papers in both Chinese and English explaining and promoting the two volumes of the Anthology,Chinese discourse on translation and the methods or approaches applied such as thick translation and pushing-hands.The three phases demonstrate how Martha has shifted her attention from translation practice to translation"theory",from descriptive translation studies to applied translation studies."Mediation" in the field of international relations and negotiation has much in common with Martha’s promotion of Chinese discourse on translation—to encourage better communication,to lead to less friction,and to avoid possible conflicts.The concept of"mediation" is borrowed and combined with Martha’s opinion of "mediated nature of knowledge" for the explanation of better promotion of Chinese discourse on translation.To sum up.Martha,who builds a bridge between Chinese and western discourse on translation,has:"a)encourage(d)the exchange of information;b)provide(d)new information;c)help(ed)the parties to understand each other’s views;d)encourage(d)flexibility;e)shift(ed)the focus from the past to the future;f)invent(ed)solutions that meet the fundamental interests of all parties".All these may provide a possibly better way for other Chinese scholars to promote Chinese discourse on translation.Martha’s efforts reveal that:a)to pander to the western translation theory only makes Chinese native texts become mere materials for western translation theories and makes Chinese scholars porters of materials;2)to counter to the western discourse on translation and to refuse to conduct communication in pursuit of a unique system of translation studies should never be accepted,either.Abetter way is to mediate between the two sets of discourse.A mediator and communicator,who can appropriately apply such methods and approaches as thick translation and pushing-hands,can more effectively promote Chinese discourse on translation and make it better accepted.