Article,
First Translation and Retranslation in the Historical, Social and Cultural Context: A case study of two Chinese versions of Tess of the DUrbervilles
Babel, (2012)
DOI: 10.1075/babel.58.4.06xia
Abstract
In the history of Chinese literary translation, retranslation is a common phenomenon. Starting in the 1930s, retranslation has become more and more popular, accompanied by a boom in debates about retranslation. Retranslation, in the view of Zou Taofen, is not economical and instead translators should translate devote their attention to untranslated classics (Zou Taofen 1920: 06–04). Contrary to this Mao Dun asserts that if we are really for consideration of the reader’s “economy”, it is necessary to criticize false and inferior translations, and so retranslation is a necessary remedy (Mao Dun 1937: 5). Moreover, Lu Xun insists definitely that retranslation is inevitably linked to the evaluation of language use (Lu Xun 1998: 275). Furthermore, in the 1950s, Mao Dun and Zhou Zuoreng reemphasized the value of retranslation (Mao Dun 1984; Zhou Zuoreng 1950-04-02); Zhou Zuoreng even indicates that the number of retranslations is proportional to cultural development. During the 1980s and the 1990s after reform and opening, the scope and range of retranslation became larger and broader.
