A Study Of The English Performing Version Of Changshengdian By The Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Known as the mother of Chinese operas,Kunqu Opera takes on an added importance at a time of China’s increasing efforts to preserve and carry forward its fine traditional culture.Nevertheless,the attention it receives has been insufficient-it has even declined for a time.Therefore,it is imperative to revitalise this fine art form.Performing classic plays can be a workable solution and the play Changshengdian is a wise choice.In 2007,the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe produced a relatively full-length version of Changshengdian with English surtitles,a bold attempt to promote Kunqu Opera around the world,hence the significance of studying the translation of the script.Although as a literary work enjoys a high reputation in Chinese literature,its performing version has not been studied as it should.Currently known researches roughly fall into two categories:one focuses on analyses of characters and plots and the other conducts comparative analyses between the original play and its translations using translation theories,among which the theory of reception aesthetics and adaption theory are frequently used.Only two articles have been found to adopt relevance theory,but they are confined to studying how culture-loaded words are translated in the reader’s script.The translation of cultural elements,however,is more difficult and more important in the performing version.Therefore,the thesis intends to further use relevance theory to study differences in translation between the reading version and the performing version of Changshengdian in the hope of helping stage more plays with English surtitles and develop Kunqu Opera.Through a close reading of the 2008 performing version of Changshengdian,the thesis explores what changes have been made in the translation of the performing version and whether the changes are reasonable,judging by relevance theory.Major findings are as follows:In the performing version exist macroscopic changes and microscopic ones,including addition,omission or reduction,reorganization and replacement.To be more specific,macroscopic changes concern several paragraphs,scenes,or acts,while microscopic changes take place in the level of words,sentences,or concern only one paragraph.For the sake of optimal relevance,cultural information has been added,content which is technically demanding but loosely related to the theme of the whole play has been omitted or reduced,some scenes have been reorganized,even merged,while culturally complex information and ambiguous content have been replaced with simple ones.To conclude,changes made in the translation of the performing version of Changshengdian are overall reasonable because the audience can gain adequate contextual effects with the least processing effort,which is optimal relevance at the centre of relevance theory.Discussion on such changes thus can be helpful if other plays are to be staged and go abroad.