A Brief Review of Translation Critiques of George Kao’s Chinese Version of TheGreatGatsby

School of Foreign Languages,Shandong University of Political Science and Law,Ji’nan,China Email:plx20@126.com

[Abstract]George Kao was prolific as a translator from both English to Chinese and Chinese to English.“大亨小传”,among all of the three English masterpieces translated by George Kao,is the first one in time sequence.After its publication,numerous critiques on the Chinese translation have appeared,a brief review of which can provide illuminating insight into George Kao’s achievements in translation.

[Keywords]George Kao;Chinese Translation;“大亨小传”;Translation Critiques

Introduction

as is known to all,The Great Gatsby,written by American writer F.Scott Fitzgerald,is among the world classics.After the novel was published in New York,T.S.Eliot,one of the most influential critics and poets of the 20th century,immediately commented that it had been the first step taken by American novelists since Henry James.Earnest Hemingway,an American critic and writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature,commented that since Fitzgerald could compose such a good novel asThe Great Gatsby,he believed that more better works could be expected.If being aware of how strict critics Eliot and Hemingway are,one can realize the great appreciation from them.However,upon the publication,it received little attention from most ordinary readers.

Since the 1940s,the novel has been a must reading in American high schools and universities.In the year of 1998,it ranked the second on the list of the Top One Hundred 20th century English Novels made by the worldwide famous New York literature publisher Random House.Nowadays,it becomes yet one of the household American Classics(Wu,2016,p.ii).

George Kao is a well-known translator,writer,editor and journalist.Despite his ancestral home in Jiangning County,Jiangsu Province,he was born in Michigan,USA.He spent his childhood in Shanghai,China.After graduating from Yenching University in China,he pursued his further study in the United States in the 1930s.He obtained a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University.He has lived in the United States ever since.He has served as a journalist,writer and editor for several Chinese and English magazines and news agencies.In the 1950s and 1960s,He worked as the editor of the Voice of America in Washington.

George Kao was prolific as a translator from both English to Chinese and Chinese to English.After retiring from Voice of America in 1972,he dedicated himself to the Research Centre for Translation of The Chinese University of Hong Kong as a visiting senior fellow of the center and successfully launched,with the famous scholar Mr.Stephen C.Soong,the Centre’s flagship journalRenditions.During his eight-year performance of editor-in-chief,he was dedicated to translating Chinese ancient and modern literary works to English readers around the world and making Renditions the leading international journal of Chinese literature in English translation.He also contributed a number of translations to the journal himself.He edited or translated several of Taiwan author Bai Xianyong’s collections into English.

He is known in the Chinese world as the translator of several American classics of English-language literature,includingThe Great Gatsby,Long Day’s Journey Into Night,Look Homeward,Angel,among whichThe Great Gatsby,with the title of its Chinese version“大亨小传”,is the first American masterpiece translated by him.After the publication of the Chinese version,numerous critiques on it have appeared,a brief review of which can provide illuminating insight into George Kao’s achievements in translation.

Translation Critiques on“大亨小传”

Given George Kao’s translation achievements in translating American literature,it is particularly important to conduct a comprehensive and systematic study of it.However,there are very few studies and comments on the translations,and most of them are scattered.In view of this,this paper intends to briefly summarize the translation critiques of his Chinese translation of“大亨小传”,in order to present a glimpse of his translation achievements.

The critiques can fall roughly into the two categories respectively by George Kao and other scholars.

Critiques by George Kao

George Kao’s Chinese translation,“大亨小传”,was first published in 1971 by World Today Press in Hong Kong.After its publication,George Kao himself once commented on the pros and cons of it.However,scattered critiques can only be found in an article,published in 2013,entitled“Da Heng and me:Some Anecdotes About the Translation of the Novel”(Kao,2013,p.314).These self-critiques can be categorized into the following three types:

General Critiques:Self-modesty

as a translator always keeping a low profile,George Kao once stated that he himself“is merely an amateur translator”with little expertise when it comes to literary translation(Jin,2009,p.115).Furthermore,he would feel greatly flattered to be awarded the title of“A Famous Translator”,since he“was nobody but a skilled ordinary craftsman”,who ventured to“act without due consideration”in translating the English novelThe Great Gatsbyinto Chinese.(Kao,2013,p.314)

Detailed Critiques:Exquisite Craftsmanship

In spite of the general self-modesty critiques,George Kao also believed that some translations showed his exquisite craftsmanship.For instance,in rendering the English title ofThe Great Gatsbyinto“大亨小传”,he once commented:

As a word both used in Shanghai slang and the Mandarin Chinese,“大亨(Da Heng)”skillfully reveals the legendary identity of the protagonist of the novel---a big shot named Gatsby.Furthermore,“大”and“小”,as two characters opposite in meaning,not only form neat and ingenious antithesis,but suggest the protagonist’s richness in both wealth and spirit as well as the length of the novel.Moreover,I would venture to say that not only can“大亨小传”trigger Chinese readers’association with“阿Q正传”,but the two novels respectively represent national essence of America and China.No wonder that even up to now,so many American intellectuals would tend to repeatedly resort to the icon of Gatsby,or to the citations in the novel as an epigram,just as Chinese people would frequently disparage the“Ah Q’s Autosuggestion”(Kao,cited from Jin&Huang,2015,p.44)

To summarize,George Kao’s Chinese version of the title,“大亨小传”,as a four-word phrase,has much more profound meanings for Chinese readers.It is manifestation of his Chinese educational background and is a typical imitation of the naming tradition of Chinese classical novels and biographies.In establishing close association between the title of“大亨小传”and Chinese literature and culture,the translator,to a great extent,conveys both the form and spirit of the original novel.

Detailed Critiques:Self-criticism

In the article,George Kao also exposed his mistranslation of a proper noun:

ST:“Not at Kapiolani?”…

“Not that day I carried you from the Punch Bowel to keep your shoes dry?”…

“Daisy?”

TT:“记得我们一同逛加比奥兰里的时候，你没有爱过我吗？”

“记得那次我从‘酒钵号’游艇把你抱上岸，不让你鞋子弄湿，你那时没爱我吗？”……

“黛西，你说？”(Kao,2013,pp.327-28)

In rendering the proper name of“the Punch Bowel”into“‘酒钵号’游艇”,George Kao committed a grave“error of fact”.Since the proper name of“the Punch Bowel”,which was mistaken by George Kao in the Chinese version as the name of a luxury yacht,is actually the remains of a volcano,located in Kapiolani Park,Hawaii,a well-known tourist attraction appealed greatly to the newly-weds during those years.Tracing his own mentality in producing the version,George Kao stated that the mistranslation was indeed“a shot in the dark,jumping to the conclusion without any verifying”,and criticized himself for his“wild guess”attitude.Reluctance to check on the accuracy or consult the experts eventually led to the“unforgivable”mistake.(Kao,2013,p.328)

In short,Gao’s overall evaluation of his translation is comparatively self-modest,still,he is satisfied with some details,which can be traced from his comments on the title of the self-translated novel.For the mistranslations resulting from his overconfidence,he adopted the attitude of“no evading,no covering up”,exposing them without any hesitation,rather,with in-depth self-examination.Therefore,it reveals George Kao’s professional integrity and academic earnestness.

Critiques by Other Scholars

Critiques by Writers

Regarding George Kao as a master translator,Mr.Bai Xianyong,a well-known writer from China’s Taiwan,praised George Kao for his exceptionally skilled translation techniques,who“can handle both Chinese and English at ease,and can give full play to the target language without breaking the conventions of it”.(Bai,2011,p.132)Believing that Fitzgerald’s novelThe Great Gatsbyis the masterpiece of Fitzgerald and ranks the top among American novels and the beauty of Fitzgerald’s writings has reached the summit of his writing career,Pai deemed that George Kao’s translation captured the essence of the novel,which requires a deep comprehension and perception of the quintessence of American culture.George Kao’s familiarity with the background of the novel also,to a great extent,contributes to his excellent Chinese version in that the novel is set in New York,the city in which George Kao has lived for decades.Consequently,the Chinese version is“of sufficient accuracy and fluency,even can serve as a model could be employed for translation instruction.”(Bai,2010,p.380)

Mrs.Huang Biduan,another writer from China’s Taiwan,deemed that George Kao is an“irreplaceable”translator with great proficiency in both the Chinese and English languages,taking his three advantages—the profound foundation of Chinese and Western culture,the exceptionally keen apprehension talent,and the broad intellectual interest—into account,while these advantages,in return,deem“大亨小传”a“canon Chinese version translated from English”.(Huang,2008,pp.327-28)

Mr.Zhang Dachun,a Taiwanese Chinese writer who is ranked as“one of the best novelists among the contemporary Chinese novelists”,after comparing George Kao’s re-translated version and the first translated version of the initial part of the novel,is convinced that Gao’s re-translation process not only takes into account the target readers set in the mind,but also succinctly integrates into the translation the understanding and cognition of the author of the novel as well as the characters in the novel,“skipping the surface meanings and conveying tactfully the implied meanings”.(Zhang,2013,p.iii)

Professor T.C.Tsia(Xia Zhiqing),a famous Chinese literary critic,believed that Kao’s translation is“faithful and fluent,”because Kao is a“translator of all talents”,equally competent in bilingual translation.Furthermore,after commenting on the last chapter of the original novel Professor T.C.Tsia pointed out that it“has reached a high level of literary craftsmanship”,while Kao’s translation is rivally“subtle and powerful”,equivalent to the original text.(Xia,2002,pp.169-70)

Hong Kong’s famous writer Dong Qiao commented on Gao’s translation in a vivid diction,praising that“the essence of the English language in the original text is integrated into the Chinese linguistic form,therefore,the translation manifests a sophisticated style.”(Dong,2011,p.25)

Huang Weiliang,both a well-known literary critic and a professor at the College of Humanities of Fo Guang University in Taiwan,praised Kao as being an eminent translator of“appreciating gems of both English and Chinese literature”.(Huang,2012,p.64)

Chen Zishan,a famous writer and literary theorist in China’s mainland,holds that Kao is a literary translator enjoying considerable prestige both at home and abroad for his translation between Chinese and English.His mastery and application of Chinese and English bilingualism are well-known and can be listed top in today's overseas scholars.(Chen,2007,p.178)

Critiques by Translators

Professor Jin Shenghua,former Dean of the Department of Translation of the Chinese University of Hong Kong,commented that the translation of“大亨小传”not only enjoys great popularity among readers,but also is widely acknowledged by the academia of translation studies,which could be listed as one of the required readings for translation learners,and George Kao’s proficiency in both Chinese and English cultures makes him a“rarely-seen bilingual master translator”(Jin,2009,p.115).She added that the Chinese version of the novel title“大亨小传”has displayed particularly exquisite craftsmanship with respect to translations of novel titles,since this“translation of muse”,in conveying the original meanings of the source text,also conforms to the convention of pursuing antithesis for brevity in the classical Chinese language.(Jin,2014,p.124)

Liu Shaoming,a translator and professor at Lingnan University,Hong Kong,praised highly of George Kao’s translation of“大亨小传”，deeming it a flawless translation with resemblance in both form and spirit.

Yun Yetui(real name Zhang Letian),a translator and famous book reviewer,commenting on the translation of the initial part of“instructions from father”,thought that the version,out of George’s proficient language sense,possesses great fluency,and conveys“a special flavor of comfort and peace of mind”while reading.Comparing the translation of George Kao and another translator,Wu Ningkun,he believed that Kao’s translation is far better than Wu’s in terms of fluency.However,Yun also questioned the accuracy of the target text in conveying the original meanings in Kao’s translation,and criticized Kao’s domesticating tendency to dissolve the possible multiple interpretations of the original text.“Despite the smoothness and expressiveness of Kao’s version,there are also considerable deviations and intentional additions and deletions.”Moreover,after comparing the translations,he held that Wu’s tendency to literal translation may cause the reader to“doubt whether Kao’s interpretation featuring liberal translation is too simplex.”(Yun,2013,p.A22)

Conclusion

George Kao demonstrated his humble policy and rigorous scholarship both in his modest self-evaluation of the translation“大亨小传”and courage to expose his own mistranslation.He once ranked,virtually,himself“in the forefront of the second rank”.In spite of the fact that some scholars question the accuracy and mono-interpretation of his translation,most scholars give their applause to the translation,indicating that Kao’s outstanding achievements in translating this world-famous classic have been widely recognized by the academic community.