A Study of Chinese Translations and Interpretations of H.C. Andersen's Tales: History and Influence

Research output: Book/ReportPh.D. thesis

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  • Wenjie Li
H. C. Andersen’s tales are considered as classical fairy tales in China. How they have achieved this canonical status is one of the concerns of this study. Taking a historical point of view, this thesis intends to examine how the Chinese translations and interpretations of his tales, since they were first introduced and translated, have contributed to their canonization, and how they have shaped the various images of Andersen in different temporal periods.
Moreover, considering translation as a social practice taking place in a polysystem, this study has further examined how socio-political factors like economics and ideology, as well as human factors such as patrons, translators, and readers, have influenced the Chinese translations and interpretations of Andersen’s tales.
However, this thesis is not merely a history about facts like names and dates. It also involves observations on the translations which appeared in various periods. The original Danish texts, the English mediating texts, and the Chinese target texts have all been referred to in textual analyses and comparisons, so as to clarify the intertextual relations and influences operating among them. With this analysis as support, the precise roles that the aforementioned factors have played in the translation of Andersen's works can be determined. Based on the observations of translated texts and the history of translation, the author’s own reflections on some of the phenomena applying to Andersen translation in China, like indirect translation and retranslation, have also been discussed.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherDet Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet
Number of pages277
Publication statusPublished - May 2014

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