Article published In:
BabelVol. 62:2 (2016) ► pp.191–210
Representations of the dead and the afterlife in translations of Mudan Ting, a masterpiece in Chinese Kunqu theatre
The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the strategies used to translate into English death related cultural taboos viz. death, ghost and resurrection represented in the prominent classical Chinese drama Mudan Ting. Particular reference is made to the articulation of these taboos in three seminal English versions of Mudan Ting (as Peony Pavilion) by Cyril Birch, Wang Rongpei and Zhang Guanqian, respectively. Although these translators all follow the source text closely, certain differences in their translation strategies warrant attention. Cyril Birch takes an acculturation approach to the translation of death-related material, whereas Wang Rongpei adheres to the original text and tends to use semantic translation. In contrast, Zhang Guanqian usually translates literally, infusing the English text with a “foreign” flavor. These differences are examined in light of the general propensity among translators to take an avoidance approach to death-related material. The strategies used to translate taboo subjects are found to depend on the translator’s intentions, the target readership, the specific nature of the culturally loaded elements and the availability of equivalent expressions in the target language and culture.
References (24)
Aixelá, Javier Franco. 1996. “Culture-specific Items in Translation”. In Translation, Power, Subversion, ed. by Román Álvarez Rodrâiguez and M. Carmen-África Vidal, 52–78. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bassnett, Susan, and Bush, Peter. 2006. The Translator as Writer. London: Continuum.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Catholic Encyclopedia: General Resurrection. New Advent. [[URL]], consulted on 18 November 2013.
Chu, Man-ping. 2009. “Chinese Cultural Taboos that Affect Their Language & Behaviour Choices”. Asian Culture and History 1 (2): 122–139. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Confucius. 1983. Confucius: The Analects(Lun Yu). Translated by D.C. Lau. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Crisafulli, Edoardo. 1997. “Taboo Language in Translation”. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 5 (2): 237–256. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cross, F.L., and Livingstone, E.A. (ed.). 2005. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cruz, Joan Carroll. 1977. The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati. Charlotte, NC: TAN Book.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Davoodi, Zahra. 2009. “On the Translation of the Taboos”. [[URL]], consulted on 18 November 2013.
Drozde. L., and Vogule, G. 2008. “Censorship in Translation of Taboo Words”. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Nation and Language: Modern Aspects of Socio-Linguistic Development. [[URL]], consulted on 19 November 2013.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hillman, James. 1989. “The Salt of Soul, the Sulfur of Spirit.” In A Blue Fire: Selected Writings by James Gillman, ed. by T. Moore, 112–113. New York: Harper Perennial.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hsiao, Tengfu. 1988. “Han Wei Liu Chao Fojiao Zhi Diyu Shuo”. [The Study of Hell in Buddhism at the Time of Han Wei Liu Chao]. The Eastern Miscellany 22 (2): 34–40. [[URL]], consulted on 19 November 2013.
Lung, Rachel. 2003. “Translating Sensitive Texts”. Perspectives 11 (4): 255–268. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Medhurst, Walter Henry. 1848. An Inquiry into the Proper Mode of Rendering the Word God in Translating the Sacred Scriptures into the Chinese Language. Shanghae: The Mission Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Morgan, Jack. 1998. “Toward an Organic Theory of the Gothic: Conceptualizing Horror”. The Journal of Popular Culture 32 (3): 59–80. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robinson, Douglas. 1996. Translation and Taboo. Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tang, Xianzu. 1999. Tāngxiǎnzǔquánjí, [A complete collection of works by Tang Xianzu]. Beijing: Běijīng gǔjí chūbǎnshè.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tang, Xianzu. 2000. The Peony Pavilion. Translated by R. Wang. Shanghai: Shànghǎi wàiyǔjiàoyù chūbǎnshè.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tang, Xianzu. 2001. The Peony Pavilion. Translated by G. Zhang. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tang, Xianzu. 2002. The Peony Pavilion, Mudan Ting (2nd edn). Translated by C. Birch. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zeitlin, Judith T. 2007. The Phantom Heroine: Ghosts and Gender in Seventeenth- Century Chinese Literature. Honolulu: University of Hawai’I Press. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Zeng, Li. 2013. “Ghostly Vengeance, Historical Trauma: The Lonely Ghost in the Dark Mansion (1989)”. Journal of Chinese Cinemas 7 (2): 109–121. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 31 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.