Preface
In 1820, The Asiatic Journal published the very first translated excerpt of Sanguo yanyi; a work entitled “The Death of the Celebrated Minister Tung-cho,” translated by P. P. Thoms. A Historical Survey of Sanguo yanyi in English Translation is the first attempt to make an overall descriptive study of the English translation history of Sanguo yanyi.
The translation history is divided into three periods: the early period (1820–1924), the middle period (1925–1975) and the late period (1976– ). The description of each period encompasses all types of paratexts attached to the versions (the preface, afterword, acknowledgements, annotations and titles, etc.) and a variety of documents introducing the novel to the English-speaking world (book reviews, translation reviews, encyclopedias, anthologies and bibliographies, etc.).
In the early period it was mainly expatriates in China who engaged in translation activities. As interested amateurs, they produced versions of texts adapted, summarized or excerpted from the original to help the local expatriate communities and those in their home countries gain a first-hand knowledge of China. Versions appeared in the form of leisure-time reading material, language learning material and research. As the texts were comparatively short, English journals published by expatriates in China served as their major outlet.
In the middle period translation activities show a greater diversity in terms of translator, purpose and target readership. The scope of translation expanded significantly, individual books becoming the dominant publication format. This period witnessed the appearance of the first complete translation of Sanguo yanyi.
The late period has seen a noteworthy academic turn. Moss Roberts, Professor of Chinese at New York University, has retranslated the novel to meet the requirements of teaching and research in the English-speaking countries. His translation, published in its entirety and in an abridged edition, has been patronized by Chinese as well as American presses and academic institutions. It is accompanied by academic paratexts.
Thus the work’s translation history shows a transformation of translators from amateurs to professionals, an expansion of readerships and shifts of cultural orientation from domestication to foreignization, from simplification to amplification. This book points out that the language ability and interculturality of the translator and his readership are the decisive factors over the cultural orientation of the translation.
This book contains historical and textual analyses of the translation activities of the past nearly 200 years. It devotes much attention to the social and cultural environments that have generated the various versions and promoted their dissemination, and avoids using contemporary standards to evaluate those produced in earlier periods. It also cites numerous instances of the textual characteristics of different versions, extending the discussion beyond abstract theorization. The overall analysis will therefore prove a reliable source for future studies on the English translation and dissemination of the novel.
Contents
Foreword Ⅰ
Acknowledgements Ⅴ
Preface
Chapter One Introduction 1
1.1 Purpose of the book 5
1.2 Scope of the study of translation history 9
1.3 Structure of the book 13
Chapter Two The Translation and Review of SGYY in English 15
2.1 A brief introduction to the Chinese novel SGYY 15
2.2 Sinologists’ comments on the popularity of SGYY 18
2.3 The translation history of SGYY into English 20
2.3.1 Data collection 20
2.3.2 A brief introduction to the English translations 21
2.3.3 Periodization of the history 37
2.4 The review history of SGYY in the English language 39
2.4.1 Data collection 40
2.4.2 A brief introduction to the English reviews 40
Chapter Three The Early Period (1820–1924): Expatriates’ Endeavors 51
3.1 Other identities of translators 56
3.1.1 Identities of foreigners in China during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries 56
3.1.2 Identities and perspectives of translators 57
3.2 Translation purpose and translation object 63
3.2.1 Influence of Chinese culture on the choice of the translator 65
3.2.2 Sinologists’ views on the novel as a literary form 66
3.2.3 Translation as leisure-time reading material 69
3.2.4 Translation as language learning material 72
3.2.5 Translation as research 75
3.3 Translation strategies 77
3.3.1 Translation strategies 77
3.3.2 Reasons for the translation strategies adopted 80
3.4 The journal as a unique outlet for translations and reviews 84
3.5 Conclusion 89
Chapter FourThe Middle Period (1925–1975): An Age of Diversity 91
4.1 Three translations of the same episode 94
4.1.1 Z. Q. Parker’s translation 94
4.1.2 Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang’s translation 95
4.1.3 Cheung Yik-man’s translation 98
4.2 Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor and his Romance of the Three Kingdoms 100
4.2.1 Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor 100
4.2.2 The reason why Brewitt-Taylor undertook the translation 101
4.2.3 Target reader 107
4.2.4 Translation strategies 111
4.2.5 Publisher’s role in the formation of the translation 119
4.2.6 Mistranslations 122
4.2.7 Reception of the translation by Brewitt-Taylor’s
contemporaries 131
4.2.8 Influence of Brewitt-Taylor’s translation 133
4.3 Conclusion 137
Chapter FiveThe Late Period (1976– ): The Academic Turn 139
5.1 Translation purpose and target audience 141
5.2 Production under ideal circumstances 142
5.3 The academic turn and the translator’s subjectivity 143
5.3.1 The translator as a scholar 144
5.3.2 The translator’s subjectivity and translation strategies 148
5.4 Patronage 158
5.5 Reception of Roberts’s translations 159
5.5.1 The 1976 edition 159
5.5.2 The 1991 edition 161
5.5.3 The 1999 edition 164
5.6 Mistranslations in Moss Roberts’s versions 164
5.7 Conclusion 166
Chapter Six Conclusion 169
6.1 Historical tendencies of the English translation of
SGYY 171
6.1.1 Transformation of the subject of translation activities 171
6.1.2 Transformation of the translation purpose and readership 172
6.1.3 Transformation of the translator’s cultural orientation 173
6.2 Retranslation and its causality 175
Bibliography 179 Appendices 193
Appendix A: A Catalogue of English Translations of SGYY (in chronological order) 193
Appendix B: A Catalogue of English Reviews of SGYY (in chronological order) 196
Appendix C: An Interview with Professor Moss Roberts 198
List of Tables 201
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