A Study On Creative Treason In Legends Of The Condor Heroes From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Jin Yong’s martial arts fictions are well received in China,but many of them remain unknown to the people in the West.The Legends of the Condor Heroes,the first English version of She Diao Ying Xiong Zhuan,was published by Mc Lehose Press in Feb.2018.The translator is Anna Holmwood..This book has attracted considerable attention.However,Anna Holmwood’s creative treason has yet to be discussed in much detail.The present thesis aimed to expound the creative treason that Anna Holmwood used in the English version from the perspective of Skopos Theory.The researcher focused on the following questions:(1)Anna Holmwood’s translation purposes;(2)The manifestations of Anna Holmwood’s creative treason;(3)The practical effects of Anna Holmwood’s creative treason from the perspective of Skopos Theory.As a qualitative descriptive study,the thesis identified that Anna Holmwood’s purposes are to promote Jin Yong’s martial arts novels to western readers;to open a market for future publications.The translator adopted abridged translation,edited translation,and conscious mistranslation during her translation in applying creative treason.They contributed to realize the translation purposes in five aspects: the reduction of cultural barriers to reading,the acceleration of the narrative pacing,the improvement of the continuity of the article,the increase of the amusement of the novel,the enhancement of the acceptability of the novel.Creative treason is a phenomenon worthy of attention in both translation studies and comparative literature studies.It may play a unique role in promoting cultural communications and helping introduce Chinese literature “going out”.