《天下》月刊现代文学英译作品中构建中国形象的途径及效果

Approach and Effect of Constructing China Images in the English Translations of Contemporary Literature in T'ien Hsia Monthly

在全面梳理中国形象传播途径及效果的相关文献的基础上,结合形象学、翻译学等理论,分析研究当代中国向世界展示中国形象的开端及重要载体———20世纪初中国人自主创办的英文杂志《天下》月刊。研究发现,《天下》月刊所刊发的现代文学英译作品描绘中国形象的途径主要分为四种:觉醒的中国、诗意的中国、不屈的中国、变革的中国。通过分析该期刊所呈现的最终效果得出结论,《天下》月刊英译本所塑造的中国形象并未达到预期,其根源在于中西方文化交流的时代特征与翻译方法的制约。以史为鉴,国内学者应当时刻警惕和反思当代中国与世界其他国家的交流方式,时刻准备面对跨文化交际中可能会遇到的话语困境。

Based on a comprehensive review of relevant literature about China images and combined with the theories of imagology and translation,this paper analyzes T'ien Hsia Monthly,the English magazine independently founded by Chinese in the early 20th century,which is the beginning and important carrier of displaying contemporary China images to the world.It is found that the English translation works of modern literature published in it can be divided into four ways to depict China images:Awakening China,Poetic China,Unyielding China and Changing China.Through the analysis of the final effects,the conclusion is drawn that China images created by the English translations do not meet the expectation,which is rooted in the characteristics of the time and the restriction of translation methods.Taking history as a mirror,domestic scholars should always be vigilant and reflect on the communication methods between contemporary China and other countries,and always be prepared to face the discourse difficulties that may be encountered in cross-cultural communication.