Lingnan University Digital Commons @ Lingnan University Theses & Dissertations Department of Translation 8-26-2016 Performability and translation : a case study of the production and reception of Ying Ruocheng’s translations Yichen YANG Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd Part of the Applied Linguistics Commons, and the Translation Studies Commons Recommended Citation Yang, Y. (2016). Performability and translation: A case study of the production and reception of Ying Ruocheng’s translations (Doctor's thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd/17 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Translation at Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. Terms of Use The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. PERFORMABILITY AND TRANSLATION A CASE STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION AND RECEPTION OF YING RUOCHENG’S TRANSLATIONS YANG YICHEN PHD LINGNAN UNIVERSITY 2016 PERFORMABILITY AND TRANSLATION A CASE STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION AND RECEPTION OF YING RUOCHENG’S TRANSLATIONS by YANG Yichen 杨祎辰 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Translation Lingnan University 2016 ABSTRACT Performability and Translation A Case Study of the Production and Reception of Ying Ruocheng’s Translations by YANG Yichen Doctor of Philosophy The active scholarly contribution made by practitioners of theatre translation in the past decades has turned the research area into what is now considered a burgeoning field. Despite recent developments, it seems that performability, a long-discussed yet controversial concept in the study of theatre translation, would remain part of the practitioners’ discourse. Based on a historical survey of the production and reception of the translations of Anglo-American plays by Chinese actor-director Ying Ruocheng (1929-2003) in and around the 1980s, this study explores how the performability, or theatrical potential, of a translated playtext is constructed through the negotiation between/among the norms mainly operating on three levels—the textual, the theatrical and the socio-cultural—and the agency of the individuals involved. This thesis chooses to focus on Ying because he not only was one of the most successful theatre translators in contemporary Mainland China, but also seems to be an “impossible” ideal, considering his accomplishments in translating, acting, directing and as culture diplomat. Acknowledging that performability, which is essentially fluid and constructed, this descriptive-analytical survey will cover a whole range of possible activities involved in the production and reception of a translated playtext, and put the translator’s seemingly ideal status into perspective. The broadening of the scope of investigation is crucial to the outcome of this thesis, and recommendable to future researchers of theatre translation studies. In this study, translated playtexts and their stage productions are treated as the products of the receiving linguistic, theatrical and socio-cultural systems. The investigation begins with an evaluation of Ying’s practice against his stated translation principles to identify the textual and extra-textual factors that might have governed his work as a translator in reality. The discussion emphasises that performability cannot be realised through the textual medium only, before moving on to the exploration of the performers’ attempts to negotiate with his texts for theatrical enactment. The investigation, which examines the actions taken by the theatrical institution and individual actors in two separate chapters, draws attention to the roles of the translational, theatrical and socio-cultural norms and the power dynamics between the translator and his theatrical collaborators in their efforts to ‘ensure’ or create performability. The discussion is followed by an analysis concentrating on Ying’s role as a mediator within the production process and between the productions and the target environment, which is crucial to the achievement of both the immediate success of the productions and the transfer of repertoire. The study concludes that while a theatre translator and his or her theatrical collaborators are subject to various systemic constraints, the translator can find more power in his or her mediatory role as a bilingualist and biculturalist and promote the performability of the text. Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Literature Review .............................................................................................. 1 1.2. Ying Ruocheng: An “Impossibly” Ideal Translator .......................................... 7 1.2.1. Ying’s Translation Principles and Versatility ............................................. 7 1.2.2. Ying and Spoken Drama in the 1980s ...................................................... 12 1.3. Research Scope, Objectives and Organisation ................................................ 14 Chapter 2 Ying Ruocheng’s Pursuit of Performability in Translation ....................... 21 2.1. Stylistic Features: A Revelation about Ying’s Underlying Principles ............ 21 2.2. Governing Factors ........................................................................................... 32 2.2.1. The Joint Influence of the Norms of Translation and Theatre .................. 32 2.2.2. A Holistic Perspective .............................................................................. 39 2.3. A Preliminary Examination of the Effects of Translation ............................... 44 2.4. Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 51 Chapter 3 Production Teams’ Approach to Translated Playtexts: Institutional Efforts to ‘Ensure’ Performability.......................................................................................... 55 3.1. A Top-Tier Company’s Concerns: A Case of Beijing People’s Art Theatre .. 56 3.2. Cutting and Editing for Theatrical Reasons: The Decision-Makers’ Viewpoints .............................................................................................................. 60 3.3. Ideological Concerns and Self-Censorship ..................................................... 67 3.4. Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................... 82 Chapter 4 Actors’ Negotiation with the Translated Playtexts: Performability and Performing Bodies ..................................................................................................... 86 4.1. ‘Speakability’ .................................................................................................. 87 4.1.1. Page to Stage: An Actor’s Perspective ..................................................... 87 4.1.2. Clashes of Norms: Translation and Theatre ............................................. 93 i 4.1.3. The Limitation of the Translator’s Hypothetical Mise en Scène through the Translated Playtexts ............................................................................................ 99 4.2. Characterisation ............................................................................................. 104 4.2.1. A Case of Overcoming Stereotyped Acting ........................................... 104 4.2.2. Embodiment and Interpretation .............................................................. 110 4.2.3. The Director’s Intervention and Ying’s Potential Mediatory Power ...... 118 4.3 Concluding Remarks ...................................................................................... 124 Chapter 5 Ying Ruocheng’s Mediation in the Production and Reception of His Translated Playtexts: A Cultural Mediator’s Attempts to ‘Ensure’ Performability . 127 5.1. Ying’s Mediation as a Culture Ambassador .................................................. 128 5.1.1. Mobilisation of Resources ...................................................................... 128 5.1.2. Promotion of Dramaturgical Practice ..................................................... 133 5.2. Effects and Limitations ................................................................................. 141 5.2.1. Management of Audience’s Expectations .............................................. 141 5.2.2. ‘Official’ Interpretation of the Productions: Efforts to Avoid Controversies .................................................................................................... 146 5.2.3. Mediation for the Transfer of Imported Models ..................................... 152 5.3. A Reflection on Ying’s Mediatory Position and Its Potential ....................... 158 5.4. Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................... 164 Chapter 6 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 168 6.1. An “Impossibly” Ideal Theatre Translator in Perspective ............................. 168 6.2. Observations on Systemic