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Few of Chinese literature get a decent acceptance in western countries, though with such a great number of brilliant works and so many good translators’ hard work. But Goldblatt made it; he is highly instrumental in making Chinese literature renowned overseas. Then here come the questions: why there will be such a predicament in the process of introducing Chinese literature outside? What is the “secret” of Goldblatt’s translation? Is there something else, in addition to the recreation itself, determining the popularity among target readers? In the research, the author tries to explore and find answers to these questions through the study of both Chinese versions and English versions.
2. Literature Review
China has an abundance of culture. No matter known or unknown to us, a great number of people work hard to promote “China” to the outside. Among them, translators have played an important role. However, Chinese is so different from English, the official language for many countries with powerful voices in the world; instead, Chinese is only popular with the Asian. That’s why we need translators to help introduce “China” to the outside. Unfortunately, it turns out that the practice is not so successful. A lot of Chinese works have been translated into English, but the influence they have exerted so far remains limited (Ji Jin, I Translate, therefore I Exist-the Interview of Howard Goldblatt, 2009). As Goldblatt explained towards this phenomenon, “Americans pay little attention to translated works, because they are always doubtful of them. What’s more, they are too ‘lazy’ to learn a foreign language. So in the end, they only read American and British works, unless your works have won some eminent prizes like Nobel Prize and Pulitzer. Things may turn to be a little bit better now but the biases are still there. And Goldblatt considers this as a kind of superiority in language as well.” (Ji Jin, 2009) 文献综述
People may argue with examples like Mo Yan, the first Chinese to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He helps attract people’s attention to Chinese literature. It is for sure that Mo Yan is an excellent writer; there is access to better Chinese writers. Then why after so many years there is only Mo Yan appears in the stage of Nobel Prize? There must be something that we need to investigate. One possible reason may be due to China’s vigorous economic growth. “With vigorous economic growth in the 30 plus incessant years since its opening up, China, an age-old country with a history of more than 5000 years, has gradually made its presence felt. The whole world is therefore beginning to cast its stereotyped image of China and looking up and down this new power with a curious and admiring look. But unfortunately, China is still weak in its export of cultural products” (Tian Yu, 2011).