| As one of the famous author Zhang Ling’s representatives,Lao Yan has received high praise,won many awards since its publication in 2017.Its multi-directional narrative perspective and the narrative mode across time and space have attracted the attention of many Chinese scholars.In 2020,this novel was translated into A Single Swallow by Shelly Bryant and published by “CCTSS-Amazon” Cooperation Program.Soon afterwards it attracted plenty of overseas readers for its special narrative and became the kindle bestseller in WWII Fiction and Chinese Literature in September 2020.Socio-narrative theory concerns the dynamic role of readers and the influence of social and historical context and ideology on creation and acceptance of works.Under the current background of pandemic,economic recession and intensified geopolitical conflicts,this theory serves as an important guide for the study of Chinese literature that encounters the“going out” predicament.Based on this theory and adopting the methods of literature research,data investigation and textual comparative study,this thesis aims to explore the narrative framing in the English version of Lao Yan,so as to examine whether it restores the narrative(s)encoded in the source text.Meanwhile,this thesis assesses the actual effects of narrative framing according to the overseas acceptance of A Single Swallow.This study finds that the author,the translator,the editor and the publisher use four framing strategies,namely temporal and spatial framing,selective appropriation of textual material,framing by labeling and repositioning of participants,to strengthen,weaken and change narrative(s)of the source text,create a relatively complete image of China,and frame Chinese historical,cultural and political narratives: In terms of history,by temporal and spatial framing,the target text uses the book cover,websites and lectures to relate the narratives of war,trauma and redemptive self to the current global crises,and focuses on individual fate under historical tide to highlight individual narrative.Through framing by labeling,the target text mainly adopts foreignization to translate the names of Chinese people,places,and measuring units to add historicity to the narrative.By selective application of textual material,several plots are adjusted in time and logical order which makes the narrative more epic.In terms of culture,the target text frames the narrative by labeling,employing foreignization as the major strategy,and domestication the minor to reflect the heterogeneity of narrative.By selective appropriation of textual material,the target text omits the information of relatively higher cultural density,but keeps that of the lower to strengthen the fluency of narrative and weaken the cultural differences.In terms of politics,narrative framing reflects the demands of the times.By temporal and spatial framing,the target text relates the narratives of war and redemption to the current global crises,composing the era theme of a community with a shared future for mankind and embodying universal values of Chinese literature.By repositioning of participants,the target text changes western characters’ utterance to beautify their images which caters to western narrative.The target text adds the political information about China from a western perspective,tending to frame a hybrid narrative of multiple nations through selective appropriation of textual material,but western stereotype still could be read.This thesis adopts socio-narrative theory to explore the narrative framing in A Single Swallow,so as to provide enlightenment for the translation of Chinese literature: the appeal of literary works lies in the narrative,and the appeal of translated works primarily lies in ethno-national identity,more specifically,the description of history,culture and politics.So Chinese narratives should be framed from these aspects to “tell China’s story well”.In historical aspect,the translation should be filled with rich details that restore historical events to convince overseas readers,and use individual narrative to strike a resonance in readers’ hearts.In cultural aspect,the translation should reduce the content of high cultural density to a certain extent to weaken the cultural differences while retaining the core cultural peculiarity of the works,so as to facilitate the understanding of overseas readers.In political aspect,the translation should weaken ideological and political conflicts,and tell Chinese stories with an open attitude and broad vision. |
