Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images

<p>From the 1920s, the publication of Gaskell’s Cranford has witnessed the transformation from politics-orientated to independence in China’s publishing history. There was a huge gap between the historical and cultural background of nineteenth-century Britain and that of China as it was put in...

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Main Author: Lisu Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy Publishing Center 2022-12-01
Series:Insights into Language, Culture and Communication
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Online Access:http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/ILCC/article/view/487
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author Lisu Wang
author_facet Lisu Wang
author_sort Lisu Wang
collection DOAJ
description <p>From the 1920s, the publication of Gaskell’s Cranford has witnessed the transformation from politics-orientated to independence in China’s publishing history. There was a huge gap between the historical and cultural background of nineteenth-century Britain and that of China as it was put into translation. With the differences between westernized vernacular Chinese and modern Chinese, the three Cranford versions show the development of the modern Chinese language: Woo Kwang Kien’s Cranf in 1927, Zhu Manhua’s the Forbidden City for Women in 1937, and Xu Xin’s 1985 version published with the original name Cranford. When translators in different periods reconstruct its meaning, due to reasons such as personal cultural capital and the influence of the social environment in which each translator lived, the original text would inevitably be deleted, modified, or added what they think is necessary for readers to understand. Therefore, it is inevitable that the images in the translation works differ from Gaskell’s. Generally, Woo’s and Zhu’s translations are rich both in classical Chinese elegance and western style, embracing deep personal emotions, while Xu’s shows well-developed Chinese language quality. As far as the character images are concerned, Woo’s translation sees the greatest changes, Zhu’s comparatively less and Xu’s the least.</p>
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spelling doaj-art-284a9f29faf047cfbc411690168e2c152025-08-20T03:28:07ZengAcademy Publishing CenterInsights into Language, Culture and Communication2812-49012812-491X2022-12-012211212310.21622/ilcc.2022.02.2.112227Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary imagesLisu Wang0University of Leicester, UK<p>From the 1920s, the publication of Gaskell’s Cranford has witnessed the transformation from politics-orientated to independence in China’s publishing history. There was a huge gap between the historical and cultural background of nineteenth-century Britain and that of China as it was put into translation. With the differences between westernized vernacular Chinese and modern Chinese, the three Cranford versions show the development of the modern Chinese language: Woo Kwang Kien’s Cranf in 1927, Zhu Manhua’s the Forbidden City for Women in 1937, and Xu Xin’s 1985 version published with the original name Cranford. When translators in different periods reconstruct its meaning, due to reasons such as personal cultural capital and the influence of the social environment in which each translator lived, the original text would inevitably be deleted, modified, or added what they think is necessary for readers to understand. Therefore, it is inevitable that the images in the translation works differ from Gaskell’s. Generally, Woo’s and Zhu’s translations are rich both in classical Chinese elegance and western style, embracing deep personal emotions, while Xu’s shows well-developed Chinese language quality. As far as the character images are concerned, Woo’s translation sees the greatest changes, Zhu’s comparatively less and Xu’s the least.</p>http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/ILCC/article/view/487chinese publishing history, translation and literary images, translator’s notes, cultural translation
spellingShingle Lisu Wang
Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
Insights into Language, Culture and Communication
chinese publishing history, translation and literary images, translator’s notes, cultural translation
title Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
title_full Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
title_fullStr Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
title_full_unstemmed Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
title_short Three Chinese translations of Cranford: a study of variation in literary images
title_sort three chinese translations of cranford a study of variation in literary images
topic chinese publishing history, translation and literary images, translator’s notes, cultural translation
url http://apc.aast.edu/ojs/index.php/ILCC/article/view/487
work_keys_str_mv AT lisuwang threechinesetranslationsofcranfordastudyofvariationinliteraryimages