Article published In:
BabelVol. 65:2 (2019) ► pp.153–174
The translation of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales in China
A socio-historical interpretation
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales have been popular among Chinese readers since they were introduced to China
through translation a century ago. This paper studies the translation of Andersen’s fairy tales in China by focusing on prominent
Chinese translators of Andersen and their landmark translations. Regarding translation as a social activity, the author attempts
to interpret the behaviour of the translator in terms of the historical context in which it occurred, as well as the corresponding
ideology of literature. It is argued that the language styles and translating strategies adopted by the translators of different
ages have varied according to the translator’s understanding of the original works, his purpose of translating, the publishers’
interests and the readers’ expectations in the target culture, as well as the image of Andersen constructed in the socio-cultural
context from which the translation emerged. Therefore, the translation practice, which has contributed to the canonization of
Andersen in China, is a process of the translators’ negotiations with the fluid Chinese poetics and ideology of the 20th
century.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.A Danish storyteller comes to China: Early Chinese translations of Andersen’s tales and the socio-cultural context
- 3.Translating Andersen’s fairy tales into vernacular Chinese Literature: The storyteller’s centurial travelling in China
- 3.1The translators and their new translations of Andersen in the period of the Republic of China (1918–1949)
- 3.2The translation of Andersen’s fairy tales during the period of P.R.C (1949– )
- 4.Conclusion
- Notes
-
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