《翻譯美學(xué)問題研究（英文版）（論文）》

.IntroductionForalongtime,translationhasbeenregardedasa"marginaldiscipline"byacademiccirclesandhasnotreallybeenpaidattentionto.WithChina'sreformandopeningup,domesticacademiccirclesurgentlyneedtolearnfromwesternliteratureandtheories,thustranslationhasbecomethefocusofattention.Translation,infact,isadisciplinefortranslatingandintroducingforeignculturesandliterature.Holmesdividedtranslationstudiesintotwocategoriesforthefirsttime:puretheoryandappliedtheory,whilepositioningthemaccordingtopracticalprinciples.Asatranslationmedium,thetranslator'sresearchonhisstatusisalsoemerging.Lefaivrethinksthatliterarytranslationis"rewriting"theoriginaltext,andthetranslator'sideologyplaysakeyroleinthetranslationoftheoriginaltext.Thetranslator'ssocial,historicalandculturalbackground,values,emotionalexperience,etc.affectthegenerationofthetargettext.FrenchsymbolistandfounderofthetheoryofintertextualityChristivabelievesthatanewtextisamosaicofmanyoriginaltextsorothertexts,andthetargettextformsan"intertextuality"relationshipwiththeoriginaltext,theoriginaltextandothertexts.Theintertextualrelationshipbetweentheoriginaltextandthetargettextisformedthroughthetranslator'stranslationfunction.Therefore,the"wordsandphrases"oftheoriginaltextorothertextcanbefoundinthetargettext.Itcanbeseenthatthereisanindisputableintertextualitybetweenthetranslator'sownexistingculturalidentity,knowledgeandlifeexperienceandtheoriginaltext,thetargettextandthegeneratedtext.Themacrosocial,historicalandculturalenvironmentaffectsthetranslator'smicrounderstandingoftheoriginaltext,andatthesametimeithasawiderinfluenceonculturalcommunication.Thetranslator'stranslationofthetextisactuallyacommunicativeprocessbetweentheoriginaltextcultureandthetargettextculture.Thetranslatorintegratestheunderstandingofthetextwithpersonalexperienceintothetranslationprocessintherelationshipbetweenhimselfandtheworld,consciousnessandunconsciousness,consciousnessandunconsciousness.Translationbyliterarytranslationornon-literarytranslationmainlydependsontranslators'differentunderstandingsofthefactorsthataffecttranslation.Thetranslator'ssubjectiveinitiativeisfullydisplayedinthisprocess,andthetranslator'sobjectivefunctionevenaffectsthegenerationofthetargettext.Therefore,fromtheperspectiveof"intertextuality",thetranslatorcanrealizehisorhercreativepurpose,thoughtsandartisticconceptionoftheoriginaltextwithoutdeviatingfromhisorherownunderstanding,especiallythetransmissionoftwokindsofintertextualbackgroundknowledge.Intheinteractivecommunicationofmutualtexts,themaximumequivalenteffectisobtained,thatis,theacceptabilityofthetargetreaderstothegeneratedtexts.Theculturaltraditionandvalueconceptoftheoriginaltextare"rewritten"and"polished"throughthetranslator'stranslationandintroductiontogeneratethetargettextsothatthetwoculturescancommunicate.AndreLefeverebelievesinhisresearchthattranslationisactuallyarewritingofculture.Inthisway,thetranslator'sculturalintertextualbackgroundhasagreatinfluenceonthetransmissionofculturalintertextualinformationsymbols,thuselevatingthetranslator'sstatus.Therefore,socialideology,culturalbackground,socialexperience,values,outlookonlifeandthetranslator'semotionalexperienceallaffectthetranslator.Thesetextphenomenaformintertextualrelationswiththetranslator,theoriginaltextandthetargettext,formingapowerfulandinfinitenetwork.Thevalueofthisresearchattractsmoreandmorescholarstoconducttranslationstudiesfromtheperspectiveofintertextuality,exploringthetranslatorandthefactorsaffectingthetranslator.However,fromtheperspectiveofthetranslator'sindividualemotionalexperienceandsubjectiveinitiative,itisarelativelynewperspectivetostudythetranslator'sintrinsicmotivationinchoosingthetranslationmethodsandstrategiesforthetranslatedtext.Inthetheoryofintertextuality,therelationshipamongtheoriginaltext,thetranslatorandthetargettextisatypicalintertextualrelationship,whichaimstoexplainthephenomenonofculturaltranslationandintroductionintranslation,understandthetranslatorandunderstandthetranslationactivitiesfromtheperspectiveofthetranslator'ssubjectiveinitiative,textandculture.Sucharesearchperspectivecaneffectivelycombinetranslationtheoryandpractice,whichinturncanimprovethetranslator'sstatusandlevel.Basedonpreviousstudies,itisnotdifficulttofindthatthethesison"SixChaptersofaFloatingLife"usingintertextualitytheorymainlydiscussesthetranslationthoughtsofdifferenttranslatorsfromtheaspectsoftranslator'ssubjectivityandculture,rarelyinvolvingtwoaspects:theinfluenceofthetranslator'sinneremotionalexperienceonthechoiceoftranslationmethodsandstrategiesintheprocessoftranslation,andtheinfluenceonthetranslator'ssubjectiveinitiativeinintertextualtranslation.Therefore,inthisthesis,theauthorwilltakethetranslator'sEnglishtranslationof"SixChaptersofaFloatingLife"asanexampletoexplorethetranslator'ssubjectiveinitiativeandtranslationthoughtsthataffectthechoiceoftranslationmethodsandstrategies,andfurtherpointouttheinfluenceofthetranslator'sinneremotionalexperienceonthegenerationofthetargettext.

2.FunctionalistTheory2.1FormationandDevelopmentofFunctionalistTheoryTranslationwasregardedasaspecificeventinlinguisticsinthe1950s,Itwasnotuntil1964,translationwasformallyseparatedfromlinguisticswhentheconceptof"dynamicequivalence"wasputforward.SincethentranslationhasdevelopedrapidlyasanindependentdisciplineWiththepromotionofcross-regionalbusinessneeds.(NichollsW,Hulbert-WilliamsL,2013：37-43）.Generallyspeaking,thetranslationprocessismainlydividedintonamelygrammar,meaningandconnotation,Thesethreestagesareinterrelatedandstepbystep,whichcanbettershowtheconnotationofthetranslationcontentitself.Withthecontinuousadvancementofglobalization,theencounterbetweendifferentcountrieshasbroughtgreatdifficultiesandchallengestothetranslationwork.Manyscholarsoftenfindthatintheprocessoftexttranslation,theoriginalmeaningcannotbeexactlyconveyedaccordingtotheabovethree-steptranslationmethod.Undersuchcircumstances,manyscholarsareincreasinglydissatisfiedwiththetraditionalsolidifiedtranslationlogic,andthusasetoftranslationtheorybasedonfunctionisofficiallyborn.Thebirthoffunctionaltranslationtheoryislargelyattributedtothe"GermanSchool"headedbyCatarinaRiceandHansVermeer.In1971,CatarinaRiceformallyintroducedthecategoryoffunctioninthetranslationprocess(劉亞梅,2013.).Basedontheconnectionbetweenthesourcetextandthetargettext,itcreatedanewtranslationmode,thisnewmodegivestranslatorsmoreflexibletranslationmethodsandishighlysoughtafterbymostscholarsatthattimecomparedwiththetraditionaltranslationsteps.Holtz-MantarigoesfurtherthanVermeer,histranslationstrategyofbrandnamehaslongbeendivorcedfromthemeaningofpure"translation",butisbasedontheactionprincipletheory,aimingtocoverallformsofcross-culturaltransfer,Mantarihasbroadenedtheapplicationscopeoffunctionalismtheory,whichisalsoawidelycirculatedtranslationformulanowadayswiththesupportofthistheory.2.2TheApplicationofFunctionalistTheoryinChineseTranslationPractice2.2.1NatureandFeaturesofTranslationTherearecertaindifferencesbetweentranslationandtranslationbehavioritselfinfunctionaltranslationtheory.Asfarastranslationbehaviorisconcerned,itwasfirstproposedbyHoltz-Mantari.Infunctionaltheory,thiskindofactionisconsideredasanintentionalchangeortransitionfromonestatetoanother.Translationbehavioritselfisonlyacompoundbehavior,thepurposeofwhichistorealizecross-culturalandcross-languageinformationtransmission,whiletranslationisonlybasedontheoriginallanguageleveltranslation.itcanbeclearlyseenthatalthoughthepurposesofthetwodefinitionsareconsistenttosomeextent,theresearchobjectoffunctionaltranslationtheoryisstillmainlytranslation.Inadditionwecanalsofindsomebasiccharacteristicsfromtheessenceoftranslation:translationissubjective;Second,translationisadefinitebehavior;Third,thetranslationprocessincludesacertainwillingnesstocommunicate.Translationitselfisdonethroughsymbols.Althoughtherearecleardifferencesbetweenthepreviouswrittensymbolsindifferentcountries,duetotherelevanceofsymbols,specificrelatedspeechornonverbalbehaviorsthatbothsidescanunderstandaredisplayedundertheactionoftranslators.Finally,translationisaclearcross-culturalbehavior.Intheprocessoftranslation,duetotheuniquenatureofeachculturalsystem,translationistotransfersymbolsofspecialsignificancefromthesourceculturetothetargetculture.Thedefinitionoftranslationshowsthattranslationisatext-processingaction.Theroleofthesourcetextinfunctionalistapproachesisradicallydifferentfromlinguisticorequivalence-basedapproaches.Thesourcetextisnolongerthefirstandforemostcriterionfortranslatorsdecisions;itisjustononeofthevarioussourcesofinformationusedbythetranslator.Besides,translationisinterpersonalinteraction.Thepeopleoragentsinvolvedintheinteractionhavecertainrolesorfunctions(楊波,2012).2.2.2RulesandPrinciplesinFunctionalistTranslationTheorySkoposruleistheprimeruleintranslationwhichcansummarizethemainideaofSkopostheorythatthetranslationpurposejustifiesthetranslationprocedures.Vermeerbelievesthatthetargettextshouldconformtothestandardofintratextualcoherence.Thismeansthatthereceivershouldbeabletounderstandit;itshouldmakesenseinthecommunicativesituationandcultureinwhichitisreceived.Coherencerulespecifiesthatatranslationshouldbeacceptableinasensethatitiscoherentwiththereceiverssituation.Apartfromcoherence,sincetheinformationitselfisopentobothparties,andtranslationisacross-culturalactgeneratedbyopeninformation,thismeansthatthereisanobviouscorrelationbetweentheoriginalinformationandthetranslatedinformation.Inaddition,theskopos-basedtranslationsystemalsohasabasicconceptoffidelityintranslation.Ontheonehand,fidelityrulesneedtobesubordinatedtocoherencerules,andontheotherhand,culturalcoherenceneedstobeensured.However,whenthereisabigdifferencebetweenthetranslationresultandthebrand'soriginalmeaning,howtobalancethedifferencebetweenthetwoisespeciallyimportant.Inthiscase,thetranslatorshouldstrivetorealizetheunityofSkoposTheoryandFaithfulnessPrincipleonthebasisoftheauthor'sintentionInordertoensuretheaccuracyoftranslationitself,andthesetwobasictheoriescanbesaidtobeapplicabletoalltranslationpractices.2.3Theaestheticconstituentsinliterarytranslation2.3.1TranslationaestheticobjectAestheticobjects(AO)refertotheobjectivethingsthatareinvolvedinaestheticactivities.Butnotallthethingsintheworldcanberegardedasaestheticobjects.OnlythosebearaestheticvaluesintheprocessofaestheticevaluationcanberegardedasAO(Liang,2015,p.14).Thetranslationaestheticobject(TAO)referstothesourcetext,whichisabouttotranslatedbythetranslator.Theaestheticobjectshavesomeattributeswhichcanarousereaders’delightfulfeelings(Liang,2015,p.14).Differentfromotherobjects,TAOhavetheirownattribute,whicharelistedasfollow:First,TAO’saestheticvaluesarelargelydependingontheaestheticconstitutionofthesourcelanguage.Theaestheticvaluescannotberealizedifthetranslatorsignorethemeaningandstyleofthesourcetext,nomatterhowbeautifulthetargettextis.Second,theaestheticvaluesofTAOshouldbeequivalenttotheaestheticvaluesofthesourcetext,sothatthesameaestheticeffectsofthesourcetextcanbeachievedinthetargettext.Third,somecertainkindofflexibilityofthetranslatorsisallowedintheirprocessoftranslation.BecausetheaestheticmakeupofTAOisverycomplex,itisdifficultfortranslatorstofindtheexactequivalenceinthetargetlanguage,sothetranslatorscanflexiblydealwiththetranslation.Inaddition,differenttranslatorsmayhavedifferentfeelingsaboutaestheticvalues.Fourth,theaestheticvaluesandfunctionvaluesofTAOarevariedwiththedevelopmentofthehistoryandsociety.Fifth,theaestheticvaluesofTAOarehierarchicalsincedifferentwritingshavedifferencesinaestheticvalues.Forexample,literaryworks,suchaspoems,novelsandplays,havemuchmoreaestheticvaluesthannon-literaryones,suchasnewsreport,governmentstatements,lawsandregulations,etc.However,thenon-literaryworkshavefunctionvaluesastheycanprovidemoreinformation(Liang,2015,p.15).2.3.2TranslationaestheticsubjectAccordingtoLiuMiqing,theaestheticsubject(AS)referstopeoplewhoconductaestheticactivityontheaestheticobject.Whileintranslationactivity,itreferstothetranslationaestheticsubject(TAS).ASandAOaretwoinseparableconcepts,whicharedialecticallyunified.Asfarastranslationisconcerned,theaestheticvalueistheessentialfeatureofTAO,andtheaestheticrepresentationofTAOdependsentirelyontheexertionoftheaestheticfunctionofTAS.Duringtheprocessofthetranslation,thetranslatorshouldersadualmission.Ontheonehand,heistherecipientofthesourcelanguage(SL)textwhoshoulddecodetheaestheticinformationintheSLtext.Ontheotherhand,heisidentifiedasthecreatorofthetargettext(TL).Hence,heoughttogivefullplaytohissubjectiveinitiativetocreateorrepresenttheaestheticinformationofSL.Therefore,aqualifiedtranslatorshouldbecompetentinbothdecodingandencodingtheaestheticinformationintheliterarytext.Translationisdifferentfromgeneralwriting,andtranslatorsaredifferentfromwriters.TherearetwomainattributesofTASasbelow.Firstofall,thetranslationoftheaestheticsubjectisrestrictedbythesourcetext.Thetranslatorhastofaithfullyconveytheaestheticcontentsofthesourcetextinhistranslationinorderthatthetarget-textreaderscanfeelthesameaestheticeffectasthesource-textreadersdo(Liang,2015,p.16).Secondly,althoughatranslatorcannotavoidthemisunderstandingbecauseofthedifferinglanguagesbetweentranslationsandthesourcetext,thereisstillroomforhimtoaddhisownsubjectiveinitiativeintothetranslation.AgoodTAOcanarousesubjectiveinitiativeofaTAS.Generallyspeaking,theaestheticpotentialofTASincludesseveralaspects,suchaslifeexperience,intelligencelevelandsoon.3.FuShengLiuJiandItsTranslations3.1ShenFuandFuShengLiuJiIn1877,YangYinzhuangotthemanuscriptSixChaptersofaFloatingLife(FuShengLiuJi)ofShenFuatastallinSuzhou(Wang&Xie,2005,p.1).ThenameofSixChaptersofaFloatingLifereferredtooneofLiBai’spoems,“Thefloatinglifeislikeadream,andhowbrieftheenjoymentis!”(浮生若夢(mèng)，為歡幾何?)Theoriginaltextiscomposedofsixchapters,namely“WeddedBliss;TheLittlePleasureofLife;Sorrow;TheJoysofTravel;Experience;TheWayofLife”(Lin,1999,contents).Unfortunately,onlyfourchaptersarefound.“TheWeddedBliss”tellsthestoryofShenFu’smarriagelifewithhiswifeYun.Yunhasagoodtalent,sothecoupleoftenhasapoeticdialogue.Thesweetnessoftheirlifeisrevealedbetweenthelines.“TheLittlePleasureofLife”describessomeinterestingthingsinShenFu’slife,includingcultivatingbonsai,decoratingrooms,anddiscussingpoems,paintingsandtravelswithfriends.“Sorrow”recordedShenFu’swanderinglife:howheandYunwereexpelledfromthebigfamily,howtheytookrefugeinWuxi,howYundiedofillnessandShenFuwasgrief-strickenoverthedeathofhiswifeandchildren.“TheJoysofTravel”describesthemountainsandriversthatShenFuhastraveledinthepast30years,ofwhichtherealismisasbeautifulasapicture.Astotheform,itisanautobiographicalessaywithextremelyhighlevelandgreatinfluence.Intermsofcontent,itinvolvesalmostallaspectsofChinesetraditionalculturebydepictingthedailylifeofShenFuandChenYun(Wu,2007,p.11),includingtheirmarriagelife,familyevents,idlenessandinterests,travelnotesandsoon.Thewordsrevealakindofdeepfeelingsbetweenthecoupleandtheirspiritualstateoflovingnatureaftergoingthroughthehardshipsoflife,showingtheauthor’struemindandnaturalinstincts(Zhang,2014,p.22).Thebook,whichcontainsonly40,000Chinesecharaters,ishighlyrespectedbylaterliteratibecauseofitstrueexpressionofexactfeelingsandnotraceofembellishment(Liang&Xu,2017,p.53).FuShengLiuJi,knownaslittleDreamofRedMansions,hasahighvalueinthehistoryofliterature,andthereasonliesinitsartisticachievements.Inthepasthundredyears,theacademiccircleshaveusuallymaintainedanelegantandharmonioustoneinevaluatingtheartisticachievementsofFuShengLiuJi,andscholarshavegivenitpraisewithoutexception.YangYinzhuanandhisfriendswereallenchantedwiththisbook,soitwasprinted;WangTaowasalsoparticularlyappreciativeofit(Wang&Xie,2005,p.6).YuPingbo(1980)evenpraisedthebookas“apurecrystal,onlytoseeitsbrightness,butthebrightcolorisnowaytobefound;onlytoseeitssubtlety,buttheprocessisnowheretobeseen”.FengQiaoying(2001)probesintoFuShengLiuJifromanaestheticpointofviewandthinksthat“theaestheticvalueliesinthefactthatitcandescribetherealityofthaterainanational,progressiveaestheticview”.AndtheaestheticinterestofShenFuissummarizedas“quiet,simple,skillful”.Therefore,FuShengLiuJiisknownas“animportantworkinthehistoryofChineseliterature,whichisalsoamilestoneworkinthehistoryofChinesefiction”(Zhang，2003,p.218).3.2ThetranslationsofFuShengLiuJiandthetranslators3.2.1ThetranslationsofFuShengLiuJiItisLinYutang’sbestexpectationoflifethatShenFuandhiswifeenjoythetranquillifeofnatureandarts.ThecommonspiritualpursuitandlovefortheoriginalmadeLinYutang“translatebeforeandaftermorethantentimes”,whichusheredinthefirstEnglishtranslationofFuShengLiuJi.AsWangRen’en(2005)said:“TheEnglishtranslationofFuShengLiuJiisentirelyowingtoLinYutang.Lin’stranslationhasmadeFuShengLiuJihavemillionsofreadersandmadeitacommonassetforpeoplearoundtheworld”.LinYutanghasmadeoutstandingcontributionsinthepromotionoftheculturalexchangesbetweentheEastandtheWest,andhasalsomadepioneeringcontributionstothestudyofFuShengLiuJi.TheauthorthinksthatthepublicationofmanyforeignversionsiscloselyrelatedtoLin’sversions.Sofar,therearefourEnglishversionsofFuShengLiuJi,twoinGerman,twoinSpanish,oneeachinFrench,Danish,Italian,Korean,Dutch,Hebrew,Swedish,Japanese,Malaysian,Czech,RussianandVietnamese.AmongthefourEnglishversions,thefirstoneisSixChaptersofaFloatingLifetranslatedbyLinYutangandpublishedin1936;thesecondisChaptersfromaFloatingLife:TheAutobiographyofaChineseArtisttranslatedbyShirleyM.Blackandpublishedin1960;thethirdoneisSixRecordsofaFloatingLifetranslatedbyLeonardPrattandChiangSu-huiandpublishedin1983;thefourthisSixRecordsofaLifeAdrifttranslatedbyGrahamSandersandpublishedin2011.ThischapterwillmainlyfocusonthecomparativestudyoftheEnglishversionsofLinYutangandBlack,anddiscusstheartisticrepresentationofaestheticimplicationsfromtheperspectiveoftranslationaesthetics.3.2.2translator-LinYutangLinYutangwrotealotinhislife,andhisEnglishworkscausedasensationintheliterarycirclesofEuropeandAmerica.ThroughLin'sarticles,EuropeanandAmericancountriesarepayingmoreandmoreattentiontothesocial,historical,culturalandhumanisticcharmofChina.Ofcourse,LinYutang'sworksincludemanytranslationsthatintroduceChinesesocialandculturallife,includinghisownworksandothers.LinYutang'smostproudandfavoritetranslationishistranslationof"SixChaptersofaFloatingLife"byQingDynastyscholarShenFu,and"SixChaptersofaFloatingLife"isabiographyofShenFu.Fromthesequenceofchaptersinthebiography,wecanseeShenFu'sstyleofdoingthings.ThefirstandsecondarticlesfocusondescribingthehappylifeofShenFuandChenYun'shusbandandwife,whichreflectsShenFu'soutlookonlife,values,temperamentandaesthetictaste,whichdoesnotpursuefameandfortune,iscasualandunabashed,andadvocatesthetrueself.ShenFu's"saltyandlight"descriptionofhiswifeandheroineChenYunreflectstheauthor'strueandsincerefeelingstowardsYun.Itistruethat"ifyouhaveagirllikethis,whatcanyourhusbandaskfor?".LinYutangspokehighlyofYun,"thecutestwomaninChineseliterature".BasedonhisloveandyearningfortraditionalChineseculturallife,hispursuitofidealpartnersandhisdesiretospreadChineseculturetothewest,LinYutangexpressedhisloveforSixChaptersofaFloatingLifeinhisEnglishtranslationofthebook.LinYutangwasespeciallyfondofthelovelyimageofYundepictedbyShenFuandwasdeterminedtotranslatethiswork.Afterthetranslationwaspublished,itwaslovedbyalargenumberofliteraryloversinEuropeandtheUnitedStatesandarousedgreatinterestinChinesesocialandculturallifeinwesternliterarycircles."Englishreaderscan'tbeartoreadit."Fromthis,wecanseethattheworldgreatlyadmiresLin'sculturalbackground,culturalcommunicationskills,especiallyhistranslationthoughtsandstrategies.LinYutangishighlyaccomplishedintranslationandbelievesthat"translationisanart"andshouldbedonewellintranslationpractice.LinYutangbelievesthattranslationmustfollowthreecriteria:faithfulness,smoothnessandbeauty.Firstofall,asfaras"faithfulness"isconcerned,"faithfulness"totheoriginaltextandtheauthoroftheoriginaltextisthefirstresponsibilityofthetranslator.However,whatisloyalty?LinYutangbelievesthattranslationoftheoriginaltextshouldreflecttheoriginalstyle,theauthor'sthoughtsandfeelingsandthestyleofwriting.Itisnotaword-for-wordtranslation.Secondly,thewords"smooth".Thereisacloud,"smooth,smooth,nosmoothwhysmooth?”LinYutangbelievedthatthetranslatorshouldtakethesentenceasthestandard,andtranslateandtranslateaccordingtoChineseorEnglishgrammarhabitsandtheauthor'spsychology.Thirdly,beauty.LinYutangproposedthe"beauty"oftranslationandtheartisticbeautyoftranslation.LinYutangbelievedthatthetranslatorshouldfirstrecognizethegraceandverveofthetranslatedauthorandgivefullplaytothemintheprocessoftranslationsoastofulfilltheobligationoftranslationart(LinYutang,1995).ThisisalsooneofthereasonswhyLinYutangchosetotranslateSixChaptersofaFloatingLife,reflectingLin'sideologicalessenceofunderstandingthebeautyofhumannatureandspirit.3.2.3translator-ShirleyM.BlackShirleyM.Black,aBritishfemalewriterandSinologist,publishedhertranslationworkRainbowSkirtsandFeatherJackets:TwentyChinesePoemsin1956.BlacktranslatedFuShengLiuJiasChaptersfromaFloatingLife:TheAutobiographyofaChineseArtistandpublishedin1960.Black(1960)rearrangedthewholeinto12chapters,whichwasconsideredasa“l(fā)essconfusingchronologicalorder”andwroteintheprefacethat“Ihaveomittedmanyepisodesfromthefourthpart,concernedwithvisitstotemplesandscenicplaces,whichareratheralikeandwouldnotmeanmuchtothereaderunacquaintedwiththeactualplacesdescribed”.Blackhasalsoomittedsomepartsofliterarycriticism,gardeningandbotany,because“theywereoftoospecializedanaturetobeofgeneralinterest”.Inaddition,BlackadoptedeightChinesepaintings,whichcomefromtheFreerGalleryofArtandtheWilliamRockhillNelsonGalleryofArtintheUnitedStates,todecorateandenrichhistranslation.CyrilBirchsaidthatthequalityofBlack’stranslationis“satisfyingbothinitsaccuracyandinthenaturalgraceandvigorofitsEnglishprose”.Blackhasaneatstyle,buttherearestillmanymistranslations,whichmightduetoherlackofunderstandingoftheculturalbackgroundandChineselanguage.ShirleyBlackwasnotafamousperson,butherbookwaspublishedbyarenownedpublishersuchasOxfordUniversityPress.Later,thesebooksappearedinthreedifferentfamouscities,London,NewYorkandToronto,atthesametime.Theimportan