Culture Switch in Literary Work Translation

章悦 刘逸楠

【Abstract】Proper translation of the cultural connotation is necessary for the readers to understand the main ideas and artistic beauty of an article.By the analysis of different approaches chosen by different two translators to render some cultural elements and their different effects，this thesis focuses on the comparison between the two English translation versions of Lao Shes famous literary work Luotuo Xiangzi and proposes some possible ways to transcend the cultural barrier during translation.

【Key words】Translation； Culture； Literary works； Transcend barriers

Chapter One： Introduction

Nowadays，the communications and exchanges in various fields with different countries thus become more and more frequent and intensive.The process of translation，especially from Chinese to English，is serving as a bridge for China to go the world stage as well as a direct and effective way to show those all-around aspects of Chinas society，including its brilliant and precious culture heritage.

However，the truth is that the translation work isnt going so well in China now.Therefore，many of the essence of Chinese culture cant be successfully conveyed to foreign readers in a way which can fit in their thinking pattern.Research for the literature translation work correspondently becomes an effective tool for studying the switch of culture in the process of literary work translation.

The reason why I choose Luotuo Xiangzi written by Lao She as the target for research can be explained by analyzing both the writer and the work itself.Firstly，Lao She is a world-renowned litterateur and his works has won high prestige around the world.As a result，the English version of his works is plentiful enough for research.Secondly，Luotuo Xiangzi is a culture-specific novel and contains a large quantity of cultural elements which provides sufficient research examples.Consequently，I believe the research is both meaningful and enlightening in the field of translation.

Chapter Two： Analysis of the Translation Versions

2.1 Brief introduction of the two versions

Until 2010，there are altogether four English versions of translation of Lao Shes famous novel Luotuo Xiangzi.They were translated respectively by Evan King （1945），Jean James （1979），Shi Xiaojing （2001） and Howard Goldblatt （2010）.Except Shi Xiaojing，who is a Chinese translator，the other three all come from America.In this thesis，I will specially focus on the comparison between versions translated by Evan King and Shi Xiaojing and analysis their work in a cultural perspective.

Rickshaw Boy，translated by Evan King，is usually considered to be one which is unfaithful to the original text The last three chapters of the novel were rewritten by the translator into a happy ending and thus the writers original intention was distorted to meet the translators intention of catering to readers expectation，which to some extend cant convey to them the ideology and cultural consciousness.But his work was widely accepted as in plain and natural language and close to Lao Shes writing style.And whats more，his translation work won great popularity in American and helped Laoshe build up fame worldwide.Canby （1945） praised his translation as “simply told，easy-running，more like a hearing story than reading a novel”.

2.2 Analysis of the Translation Work from a Cultural Perspective

2.2.1.Title and Main Characters name

Title：

Evan King： Rickshaw Boy

Shi Xiaojing： Camel Xiangzi

Comparing the two titles，we can obviously see from them the different cultural perspectives of the translator.Evan Kings version，“Rickshaw Boy”，is quite brief and clear in showing the story of a rickshaw driver.However，in his time，the word “boy” contained a connotation of discrimination because it was usually used to describe a man with low status in the society，such as a bartender or an apprentice.They were not all necessarily young boys，but the word “boys” was widely used to modify such a group.As a result，the title is deviated from Lao Shes fair and objective angle.Shis version，“Camel Xiangzi”，is a combination of translation and transliteration since she used Chinese Pinyin to translate the main characters name.On top of this，the word “camel” is also translated according to the original text.It is necessary since the Chinese word “骆驼”，which means camel，is an vital image the author uses to compare Xiangzis tough-minded quality with.However，the using of Pinyin to a certain extent cause confusion to the foreign reader and makes the title less attractive and appealing.

Main characters name：

Chinese：祥子、虎妞、小福子

Evan King：Lucky boy /Tiger girl/Little Joy

Shi Xiaojing： Xiangzi/Tigress/Joy

Evan Kings version can be easily associated by people with a fairy tale or a childrens comic book.The modifying words “Lucky”，“Tiger”，and “Little” are easy to understand but in lack of seriousness.They make the novel more like a telling of a childrens story than a realistic tragedy.In contrast，Shis version pays more attention to the characters personalities and the authors purpose.For example，the Chinese word“虎妞”，which means a girl with masculinity，is translated quite well into “Tigress” because it reveals the arbitrary and termagant trait of her personality，which is just similar with a tiger.Nevertheless，the names with “Zi” or “Niu” all contain some simon-pure vernacular style of Chinese peoples name，which is failed to manifest to the foreign reader.

2.2.2.Some Folk Adage

1.他把泥娃娃赶紧给二太太送了回去，二太太以为他这是存心轻看她，冲口而出的把他骂了个花瓜。

Shi： He hurriedly returned the muddy brat to the second wife，who took this as an insult and reviled him roundly.（Shi，p.107）

Evan King： In great haste he delivered the dirty little brat in his alms back to the second wife.That lady thought he was purposely making a show of contempt for her，and as quickly as she could get her mouth open she started cursing him to a many-colored melon.（King，p.64）

“骂了个花瓜”is a Beijing local expression that has nothing to do with the fruit “melon”.It indicates that the second wife of Mr.Yang let loose a torrent of abuse to Xiangzi.In Shis translation，she explains the meaning of dialect accurately to the target readers.However，Evan King probably doesnt quite understand the meaning of the dialect，which leads him to literally translate the phrases.The target language readers would feel at a loss to understand the role of the “many-colored melon” in the process of cursing.Since the vividness and accuracy are very hard to balance and be reached together，Shis work doesnt successfully present the humor，sarcasm and conciseness of the old Beijing local expressions to the target readers.

2.从此不再去见他们父女，也许虎姑娘一怒，对老头子说几句坏话，而把那点钱“炸了酱”。

Shi：If he steered clear of father and daughter，Tigress might get angry and run him down and then he'd never see that money again.（Shi，p.139）

Evan King：If from now on he never went back again to see either father or daughter，it would not unlikely happen that once Tiger Girl got angry，she would make a few slanderous remarks about him to the old man and his money would be fried in bean sauce.（King，p.86）

“炸酱”is made by frying the bean sauce while；“炸了酱”，in effect，is a Beijing dialect expression，which means money is cheated by others.Here it indicates that the author Lao She is quite familiar with the traditional food culture in Beijing and has a masterly command of the language.Again，Shis translation makes it easy for the target language reader to understand the folk adage.Though Evan King translates the word “炸酱”，he doesnt figure out the difference between “炸酱” and “炸了酱”.“炸酱”is a noun while “炸了酱” is a verb that be used as a metaphor to emphasize the possibility of Xiangzis money getting embezzled.

3.祥子在棚里坐着呢，人模狗样的，脸上的疤被灯光照得像块玉石。

Shi：Xiangzi was sitting in the marquee.What an ugly blighter he was，with that scar on his face jade—green in the lamplight！（Shi，p.309）

Evan King： Happy boy was sitting inside the mat shed，a fool with the form of a man and a shape of a dog.The light that issued from the endless acetylene of the acetylene lamp made the scar on his face green in color，like a piece of jade stone.（King，p.206）

“人模狗样”is a derogatory phrase that is used to express the dislike of someone.People would regard someone who they dislike as an ugly beast，even though the person may be not that bad.In Shis version，Master Lius hateful feeling to Xiangzi is accurately and explicitly presented.Evan Kings version is a kind of literal translation.There is no doubt the “the shape of a dog” is a figure of hyperbole.But its also not suitable since the target readers may regard it very abstract and find it quite difficult to imagine the image of Xiangzi.The most proper way here is to find a similar idiom in the English language to render the phase，which can create almost the same effect to the target language readers as to the readers of source language.

Chapter Three： Conclusions

As we can conclude from the above analysis，the versions of translators coming from different cultural background vary considerably with one another.A good translation work of literature work may need a good reading of literary works，scriptures，and historical records of both source and target languages.It also demands a proficiency and excellent mastery of peculiar cultural expressions，for example，idioms，proverbs and allusions of both languages.They are constructive to a good understanding of the cultural elements.As a result，it can be concluded that the translation of literary works really test the grounding of the translators and need people to put more efforts into.

Reference：

[1]Canby，Henry.（1945）.Rickshaw Boy by Lau Shaw.The July Book of the Month Club News，8，1-3.

[2]Katan，David.（2004）.Translating Cultures： an introduction for translators，interpreters and mediators.上海：上海外语教育出版社.