Author(s)

Yuanyuan Peng ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Foreign Languages, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710127, China

Corresponding Author

Yuanyuan Peng

ABSTRACT

The Romance of the Western Chamber is a representative work of the Yuan Dynasty by Wang Shifu, which is a legendary drama. This paper takes the translations of The Romance of the Western Chamber by S. I. Hsiung and Romance of the Western Bower by Xu Yuanchong as the research objects, constructs a bilingual parallel corpus, and conducts a comparative analysis of the translation strategies and historical backgrounds of the two translations, exploring the translation characteristics and cultural dissemination effects of each translation. The study found that S. I. Hsiung's translation tends to literal translation, emphasizing the direct expression of the source cultural content, which is conducive to cultural dissemination, while Xu's translation adopts free translation, reflecting the rhythmic beauty of the text. Translating Chinese dramas into English requires finding a balance between preserving cultural connotations and meeting the needs of readers, promoting the international dissemination of Chinese dramas.

KEYWORDS

The Romance of the Western Chamber; S. I. Hsiung; Xu Yuanchong; translation

CITE THIS PAPER

Yuanyuan Peng, A Corpus-Based Study on the Comparison and Value of the Translations of the Romance of the Western Chamber. Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2024) Vol. 7: 184-191. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2024.070129.

REFERENCES

[1] Xue Jing. "Study on the English Translation of The Romance of the Western Chamber." Dissertation, Shanxi Normal University, 2020.
[2] Li Huifeng. "A Corpus-Based Study on Literary Translator Styles." Dissertation, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, 2018.
[3] Sun Haoran. "A Sociological Study on the English Translations of the Moon and the Zither: Wang Shifu's Story of the Western Wing by Stephen H. West & Wilt L. Idema." Dissertation, Henan University of Technology, 2023.
[4] Yang Jiayi. "On the Re-narration of Xu Yuanchong's English Translation of Romance of the Western Bower". Journal of Zhaoqing College, 2022, 43(04): 44-49.
[5] Chen Jiansheng, and Li Huifeng. "A Corpus-Based Study on Literary Translator Styles: A Case Study of Two English Translations of the Romance of the Western Chamber." China Education of Light Industry, 2016(04): 20-26+79.
[6] S. I. Hsiung. Memories of Eighty. Beijing: Dolphin Publishing House, 2010: 128.
[7] Guo Jingping. "The Dissemination and Comparison of Seven English Translations of the Romance of the Western Chamber—A Study of English Translations of The Romance of the Western Chamber." Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Dissemination and Reception of Chinese Literature (Ancient Chinese Literature Section), 2010.
[8] S. I. Hsiung. The Romance of the West Chamber (Hsi Hsiang Chi). New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1968.
[9] Zhang Zhizhong. "On Xu Yuanchong's Translation Practice and Theory: Contributions and Limitations." Chinese Translation, 2022, 43(04): 92-97.
[10] Xu Yuanchong. Romance of the Western Bower. Changsha: Hunan People's Publishing House, 2000: 10.
[11] Ma Huijuan, and Zhang Huanyao. "The Forgotten Drama Translator: A Study on S. I. Hsiung's Translation." Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 2016, 39(01): 1-8+158.
[12] Fan Xinru. "Study on the English Translation and Overseas Dissemination of the Romance of the Western Chamber." Comparative Study of Cultural Innovation, 2022, 6(18): 165-170.
[13] Lu Lichun. "On the Literary Characteristics of Xu Yuan-Chong's English Translation of Romance of the Western Bower." Drama Literature, 2022(02): 70-75.
[14] Xu Yuanchong. The Art of Translation. Beijing: China Translation & Publishing Corporation, 1984.

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