基督敎翻譯小說《第四博士》的敘事翻譯特點硏究

Abstract

Based on the legend of the Magi in the New Testament of Matthew, The Story of the Other Wise Man, written by Henry Van Dyke at the late nineteenth century, has been translated into multiple languages and has become one of world masterpieces. While being introduced to China in the early twentieth century, this religious novel was translated into different versions. This novel was translated into four different Chinese versions by different translators after its debut in 1903 in China. This paper analyzes the structure and intention to translate of different versions and examine the names as well as biographies of the translators. With the aid of the theory of narratology, this paper analyzes the narrative modes of Chinese translations. As a core element of The Story of the Other Wise Man, the notion of journey exemplifies a twofold allegorical reading: the pilgrimage is for the surface meaning, while the deeper significance implies the journey to God’s salvation. As for the narrative angles, four Chinese translations were written from objective perspectives but included verses from the Bible. This strategy shows that biblical teaching and plot are combined together. Through the polysystem theory, this paper uses the translation strategy of “domestication” and “foreignization,” proposed by Laurence Venuti, to investigate the translation strategies of these four Chinese versions. At the early twentieth century, Chinese literature was still immature, translation literature was moved from periphery to center. Then, these four Chinese translations all adopted the translation strategy of domestication. The translation of western novels was a big influence to the literary environment of the late Qing Dynasty. At the beginning, western translators almost dominated the translation on speech right. With the mastery of English, more Chinese translators changed this unbalanced relation and controlled the reproduction of translated texts. The four Chinese translation versions represented this historical transformation. The first Chinese translation was published sixteen years earlier than the New Cultural Movement. The translation strategy of the narrative mode, though adopted to promote Christianity, have exerted power on the modern vernacular novel. Through juxtaposing The four Chinese translation versions within the evolution of the Chinese modern vernacular novel and the shift of right of discourse of translation, we can expose the cultural value The Chinese translation versions represents.