A Report On Chinese Narratology(Chapter Two)

This is a report on the Chinese-English translation of Chapter Two of Chinese Narratology written by Fu Xiuyan,a Chinese renowned scholar.Published by Peking University Press in 2015,Chinese Narratology studies the origin and evolution of Chinese narratives to provide a more reasonable and systematic explanation for the formation of Chinese narrative tradition.The source text for this practice is with a total volume of more than 20,000 words.Due to the fact that Chinese Narratology is an academic work,the source text is obviously an informative text based on the text-types theory.Accordingly,the translator uses the communicative translation theory to explore the proper translation methods for the culturally-loaded words,Chinese idioms,Chinese four-character phrases and typical characteristics of Chinese sentences,and applies literal translation,free translation,combination of transliteration and free translation,load translation,conversion,etc.,while controlling the faithfulness of the target text with the help of the functional equivalence theory.Five parts are presented in the report.In the first chapter,the translator introduces the background,the source text and the meaning of this translation practice,then gives an analysis of the source text.In the second chapter,the translator shows the designing and planning of this translation task in detail,including its overall design,translation tools,translation strategies,quality-control methods,and schedule.In the third chapter,the translator briefly acquaints the functional equivalence theory and communicative translation theory,then explains how the two theories are applied in the translation process.In the fourth chapter,the translator selects typical cases in the translation process for analysis,and introduces various problems confronted in the translation process and subsequent solutions.In the fifth chapter,the translator gives a summary and reflection on the gains and shortcomings in the translation practice.Through this practice,the translator finds the combination between communicative translation and functional equivalence theory allows the translator has more freedom to handle the cultural dilemma in the process of translation.Under the guidance of communicative translation theory,the translator can achieve the readability and friendliness of the target text as much as possible.Meanwhile,the functional equivalence theory is used to control the faithfulness of the target text,which can find a equilibrium point between readability and fidelity and provide a new idea for the translation of Chinese academic works.