Translation Style of Fu Lei’s

李敏

【Abstract】Mr. Fu Lei was a famous French literature translator. Most of the works are translated from Balzac， Roman Rolland， Voltaire， Merimee ect. This article through the analysis of The Conquest of Happiness to further study on Fu leis translation style.

【Key words】Language； translation； theory

1. The relationship between translation theory and experience

Fu Lei's art experience has a far-reaching influence over his translation. In 1928， he studied in French， majoring in the theory of literature and art. In the place of the world famous art treasures， Fu lei appreciated devotedly day after day， read a lot of classical original works of Western art history， studied the generations， evolution， achievements and characteristics of various genres in every periods.

In order to improve his French， he tried translating several French novels， which marked the beginning of his life's career of translation. It is the art that leads him into the palace of translation. After four years diligent study， Fu Lei gained a comprehensive understanding of the history and present condition of the modern European culture and art. More importantly， he was affected by the noble characters and sincere attitudes to art of many art masters during his frequent aesthetic experiences.

In 1931， backing in Shanghai， Responding to Liu Haisu's invitation， Fu Lei went to a school in Shanghai to teach art history and French. A year later， he quited and began to do translation work. Fu lei spent almost all his lifetime in study and introduced many French works to the readers in China.

2. A dialectical unity of “spirit” and “form”

Fu lei paid more attention to “spiritual resemblance” rather than “form resemblance”. “Spiritual resemblance” is the core of his translation thoughts. In fact， “spiritual resemblance” and “form resemblance” is a unity which the form is an integral whole. “spiritual resemblance” and “form resemblance” at the same position. “Form resemblance” can be compared to human body to which the soul— “spiritual resemblance”， is attached to， and both are inseparable. “spiritual resemblance” and “form resemblance” are two aspects of the translation process， the problem that we inquired at first does not exist. The core of the theory is to make main idea of the work clear， then to express the spirit of literature accurately.

Three basic principles should be obeyed in translation—“faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance”. Then of the three basic principles which one is the most important？ Different translators have different views. Translation circles establish “faithfulness” in the first place， Lu Xun once said： “opt for faithfulness before smoothness”. Faithful translation refers to is neither much nor less of translation， translators should not alter the manuscript of the author because of his own subjective or personal preferences. Faithfulness is equal to loyal， that is to say， translation works should be faithful to the original version， faithful to the author， the faithful to content， style and form. In general. faithfulness is to achieve functional balance， this is the root of the translation. In terms the degree of faithfulness， how translation could reach the right degree in “form” and “meaning”. Mr. Fu lei's “spirit resemblance” gave us a good reference of translation.

3. The Conquest of Happiness

The Conquest of Happiness， a masterpiece written by Bertrand Russell， is considered as guide to happiness for human beings. Fu Lei， an outstanding translator in China， made this masterpiece shining even more brilliantly because of his excellent translation. The Conquest of Happiness is one of the few English translation works which translated by Mr. Fu lei. Choosing such a work， Fu Lei explained that “ Russell's point of view about reality， some people may think he doesn't make any contribution， but I think it is worth we grasp the key.

original version： Solomn， if he were wise， would not plant fruit trees of which his son is to enjoy the fruit.

The translation of Fu Lei： 苏罗门倘有智慧，一定不种果树来让他的儿子享用果实。

The translator directly quoted the characters and allusions in the source language to make readers to understand more about Western culture.This is a kind of alienation translation strategies. In the process of text translation， Mr. Fu lei mainly adopts the alienation translation strategy and focus on the introduction of the source language culture. In The Conquest of Happiness， Mr. Fu lei made the overall style of choice， in specific words translation， he also has certain ideological manipulation.

4. Conclusion

Fu Leis achievement in translation is universally recognized. Besides his solid foundation of literature and superb writing skill， his profound artistic attainment is one of the secrets of his success in translation. He always says that translation should be based on a mastery of art. His achievement in translation is the best explanation of his words.

References：

[1]The Conquest of Happiness.Bertrand Russell.

[2]Tolman，Herbert Cushing.The Art of Translation..1901.

[3]Savory Theodore，H.the Art of Translation..1957.