西方舌尖上的食色中國—析論《金瓶梅》兩譯者飲食翻譯策略
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2013
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《金瓶梅》作為四大奇書之一,敘事手法與角色設定較前期多所突破,內容不再著墨神怪或英雄人物,改以富貴商賈西門慶為主人翁,細膩描繪其生活豪奢萎靡,道盡明代商人崛起及社會資本主義盛行。這種風氣從飲食層面觀之更是表露無遺。一方面看出富貴人家宴席極盡鋪張、酒食美饌甚是講究,另一方面,也由飲食呈現貧富懸殊、世態炎涼的現實狀況。這部經典小說至今在中外文學占有一席之地,躋身世界文學之列,然飲食相關英譯研究卻付之闕如,遂成本文試圖填補缺口。
現今英全譯本主要有二,一者為1939年出版的《金蓮》(The Golden Vase),一者為1993年起陸續推出的《金瓶梅》(The Plum in the Golden Vase)。本研究擬從文化翻譯角度出發,就勒菲弗爾(Andre Lefevere)操縱理論與韋努第(Lawrence Venuti)之文化身份,探討兩譯本1-80回的飲食翻譯。首先,簡述艾支頓(Clement Egerton)與芮效衛(David Roy)翻譯背景與中國古典小說英譯史,而後比較兩文本異同,檢視前後譯者之意識形態與時代詩學,得出兩者策略分別傾向歸化與異化,接著分析該策略如何影響各自情節鋪陳與情色指涉。此外,再以量化驗證譯者飲食各層面的歸/異化傾向,並就其主要策略與譯作生成背景之相關性,進一步觀察兩譯作時代脈絡與詩學,藉數據顯示前期偏向歸化,後期偏向異化,從而歸結出該小說文化翻譯之歷程演變。
Jin Ping Mei, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature, was a masterpiece that marked major breakthroughs; it not only departed from the grand narrative, but it also focused on a merchant rather than the typical mystical or heroic figures currently in literary tradition. The novel depicts a businessman’s rising status and the flourishing capitalism in contemporary society through the character’s extravagant lifestyle, particularly pronounced by food. The selection of food and drink vividly reflects social rank where class distinctions can never be understated in reality. The exquisite banquet cuisine demonstrates the magnificent world of the rich and privileged, contrasted with the staple diets of the impoverished. This study embarks on a systematic research of the various cuisines in the English translations of Jin Ping Mei, an area still lacking despite its significance in world literature. There are two complete English translations. The Golden Vase by Clement Egerton published in 1939 and The Plum in the Golden Vase series by David Roy published from 1993 to 2011. From the perspective of cultural translation, this study aims to examine the different foods in the first 80 chapters of the two translations. Using ideology, poetics, and the translation strategies proposed by Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory and Lawrence Venuti’s “cultural identity,” the research examines the historical context of translating Chinese classic novels, and then conducts a careful analysis of the translators’ preference in translation strategies, specifically domestication and foreignization, and how their preference influences the plot and sexual implications in the two renditions of Jin Ping Mei. In addition to a close text analysis, a quantitative research will follow to test the hypothesis of each translator’s inclination toward domestication or foreignization. The correlation between the translators’ dominant strategies and the poetics and ideologies of their times will also be discussed. The findings may in turn refer to the translators’ backgrounds or poetics, and further reveal the transformation of translation trends over time.
Jin Ping Mei, one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature, was a masterpiece that marked major breakthroughs; it not only departed from the grand narrative, but it also focused on a merchant rather than the typical mystical or heroic figures currently in literary tradition. The novel depicts a businessman’s rising status and the flourishing capitalism in contemporary society through the character’s extravagant lifestyle, particularly pronounced by food. The selection of food and drink vividly reflects social rank where class distinctions can never be understated in reality. The exquisite banquet cuisine demonstrates the magnificent world of the rich and privileged, contrasted with the staple diets of the impoverished. This study embarks on a systematic research of the various cuisines in the English translations of Jin Ping Mei, an area still lacking despite its significance in world literature. There are two complete English translations. The Golden Vase by Clement Egerton published in 1939 and The Plum in the Golden Vase series by David Roy published from 1993 to 2011. From the perspective of cultural translation, this study aims to examine the different foods in the first 80 chapters of the two translations. Using ideology, poetics, and the translation strategies proposed by Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory and Lawrence Venuti’s “cultural identity,” the research examines the historical context of translating Chinese classic novels, and then conducts a careful analysis of the translators’ preference in translation strategies, specifically domestication and foreignization, and how their preference influences the plot and sexual implications in the two renditions of Jin Ping Mei. In addition to a close text analysis, a quantitative research will follow to test the hypothesis of each translator’s inclination toward domestication or foreignization. The correlation between the translators’ dominant strategies and the poetics and ideologies of their times will also be discussed. The findings may in turn refer to the translators’ backgrounds or poetics, and further reveal the transformation of translation trends over time.
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金瓶梅, 飲食文化, 文化翻譯, 歸化與異化, 中國古典小說英譯, 量性研究, Jin Ping Mei, The Golden Vase, The Plum in the Golden Vase, dietary culture, cultural translation, domestication and foreignization, translating Chinese classical novels, quantitative research