An Analysis of Wang Zuoliang’s Translation of Thunderstorm

【Abstract】As a celebrated translation theorist and practitioner， Wang Zuoliang has translated many literary works which are valuable to appreciate， such as Thunderstorm. This paper will analyze the translation skills or strategies applied in his translation of Thunderstorm through examples and to see how can it be faithful to the original text both in language and style； and meanwhile achieve the fluency of language.

【Key words】Thunderstorm； Wang Zuoliang； translation

【作者简介】陈晓雨，汕头大学。

1. Introduction

Thunderstorm， written by a dramatist Cao Yu， is a play of a tragedy of a feudal bourgeois family in 1920s in China. It is the most frequently staged and influential one in Cao Yus dramatic works， and also one of the most famous dramas of modern Chinese dramatists in the world （Wang， 2014）. The prosperity of this work benefits from its translations. It has been translated into many different languages， such as Japanese， Vietnamese， and even many different English versions.

The translating of dramas is different from that of other literary works because it is both literary and dramatic as a special form of art. Drama translation should serve not only target language readers but also audiences who watch the stage performance in the theatre （Shen， 2008）. All these requirements are satisfied in Wangs translations of Thunderstorm. The translating skills and strategies in his translation of Thunderstorm will be analyzed in this paper through examples to see how he maintains being faithful to the original text both in language and style by flexibly using translating skills and strategies based on his fully understanding of the original text.

2.Wangs Translation of Thunderstorm

As a translation theorist and practitioner， Wang has his won theory on translation： An excellent translation should be fluent in language and be faithful to the original both in language and style （Wang， 1997）. His highest goal in translation is： Everything accords to the original， including the tone， the style， and the form， etc （Wang， 1989）. These were reflected in his translation of Thunderstorm， which might be considered as the best English version as it not only reappears the artistic charm of the original， but also reproduces its refined and implicit language features （Wang， 2011）. The language he used is fluent and flexible and also faithful to the original， which can be showed on many examples：

e.g.1： 四：我怕老爺念经吃素，不喜欢我们伺候他。

FENG： I thought a religious man like the master wouldnt like having a girl staying on to wait on him. （p. 70-71）

Buddhism culture， including Buddhist rules， are well-known in China， so it is easy for Chinese readers to understand what a secular man who follows the Buddhist rules at his old age might be like. However， most of the English readers are Christians， which may hinder their understanding to the drama when it refers to religions. Therefore， in the e.g.1， Wang used a general phase “a religious man” to replace the verbs “念经吃素” to remove difficulties for English readers and also change the verbs to a noun， which accords with English expression.

e.g.2： 蘩：我想清静清静。你看我的气色怎么样？四凤，你给二少爷拿一瓶汽水。你看你的脸通红。

FAN： I wanted to be left alone. How do you think I look？ -- Sifeng， you might fetch Master Chong a bottle of mineral water. Why， youre blushing！ （p. 76-77）

Some expressions are only exceptional in Chinese， such as “清靜清静” and “气色”， so if those words are translated literally， readers of the target language will not understand. In Wangs translation， he flexibly translated the word “清静清静” according to its connotative meaning -- “to be left alone”； and omitted the word “气色” in English without the lessening its original meaning.

e.g.3： 萍：你忘了，那是我年轻，我一时冲动，说出来这样糊涂的话。

PING：Ah， but dont forget I was much younger then. I came out with all this nonsense on the impulse of the moment. （p.152-153）

萍：年轻人一时糊涂做错了的事，你就不肯原谅么？

PING： You mean you cant forgive a young man for going wrong in a moment of folly？ （p.152-153）

e.g.4： 蘩：在这家里你能快活，自然好。

FAN： If you can be happy in this house， so much the better. （p. 80-81）

......

萍：（拿起报纸）说不出来，像是家里住得太久了，烦得很。

PING （picking up a newspaper）： I dont quite know how to put it. I feel Ive been at home too long and Im getting fed up. （p. 100-101）

The flexibility of language in Wangs translation is also embodied on his translating the same word into different expressions. In e.g.3， Ping said “糊涂” for two times， but their meanings are different. The first “糊涂” was used to modify the words said by him when he was young. So it was translated into “nonsense”， together with the word being modified. The second “糊涂” was used to modify himself at his young age， so it was translated into “folly”.

Similar translation skill was also used in e.g.4： From Wangs translation， readers can feel that the definition of “家” is different to Fanyi and Ping. In Fans opinion， the Zhous is just a building that trapped her here after she married Master Zhou. However， as to Ping， no matter how uncomfortable he was in the Zhous， it was still his home where he grew up. Therefore， Wang respectively translated “家” into “house” and “home”. These make it easier for readers in the target language to understand the characters emotions to the Zhous.

e.g.5： 鲁：（大哭）这真是一群强盗！（走至周萍面前）你是萍，——凭——凭什么打我的儿子？

萍：你是谁？

鲁：我是你的......你打的这个人的妈......。

MA （breaking down）： You are hooligans， too！ （Going across to Zhou Ping.） Youre my - mighty free with your fists！ What right have you to hit my son？

PING： Who are you？

MA： Im your - your victims mother. （p. 226-227）

Many translators fail to translate rhetorical devices in the original works， thinking that the rhetorical devices are untranslatable. However， Wang retained rhetorical devices in his translation. In e.g.5， when Mrs. Lu met her son after thirty years and witnessed her two sons became enemies， her emotion was extremely complicated. That was shown by a slip of the tongue of Mrs. Lu in the original text， from which readers can experience the characters extremely complication emotion totally. Wang succeeded in making target language readers have the same reaction as the readers of the original by using homophones puns as the original text in his translation.

e.g.6： 蘩：（反抗地）我不愿意喝這种苦东西。

FAN （protesting）： I wont touch it--its too bitter. （p. 112-113）

Most of the characters languages in Thunderstorm are colloquial languages which are simple and easy to understand. This linguistic feature was also kept by Wang in his translation： in e.g.6， he omitted a Chinese verb “愿意” and took the advantage of future tense in English to express the characters protesting tone. This omission simplifies the language and intensifies the tone of the character.

3. Conclusion

From what has been analyzed above， readers can see that Wang Zuoliangs outstanding and brilliant translation work Thunderstorm is full of different translation skills and strategies which make the language in his translation fluent and flexible， and also faithful to the original both in the form and the content， so it might provide instructive meaning for the later translators. To become a excellent translator， the competences to understand the source language thoroughly and to use the target language flexibly are necessary.

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