Title of Thesis Or Dissertation, Worded

METAPHOR IN METAMORPHOSIS: TOWARDS COMPREHENSIVE TRANSLATION OF CHINESE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE by KATHERINE E. THOMPSON A THESIS Presented to the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts June 2012 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Katherine E. Thompson Title: Metaphor in Metamorphosis: Towards Comprehensive Translation of Chinese Figurative Language This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures by: Zhuo Jing-Schmidt Chairperson Alison Groppe Member Xin Huang Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2012 ii © 2012 Katherine E. Thompson iii THESIS ABSTRACT Katherine E. Thompson Master of Arts Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures June 2012 Title: Metaphor in Metamorphosis: Towards Comprehensive Translation of Chinese Figurative Language Focusing on the unique challenges of Chinese-to-English translation, this thesis attempts to bridge the gap between practical concerns related to readability and the cognitive structure and functions of metaphor. It explores the possibility of a compromise between the interest of the reader, the culturally-bound expressiveness of original texts, and translator interpretation. The metaphorical difficulties that arise in the translation of two Chinese novellas, 《纸醉》 (“Paper Dreams”) by Lu Min and 《百鸟朝凤》 (“One Hundred Birds Saluting the Phoenix”) by Xiao Jianghong, are analyzed to demonstrate how compromise can begin to take shape through the combined application of reader accessibility guidelines and cognitive theories of metaphor. Ultimately, this process reveals how each metaphor requires customized solutions and suggests that voices from various fields should be taken into consideration when transforming the literature of one tongue into an imitative product in another. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Katherine E. Thompson GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, Chinese, 2012, University of Oregon Master of Arts, Linguistics, 2012, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, Architecture, 2009, Yale University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Translation Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature Chinese Linguistics and Pedagogy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2009-2012 Courses in Chinese language, literature, film, and culture Conference Assistant, North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics, 2011 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Foreign Language and Area Studies Year-long Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, 2010-2011 Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, 2009 East Asian Language Fellowship, Richard U. Light Foundation, 2005 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my first expression of gratitude to John Gao, who sparked my interest in 《纸醉》 and inadvertently started me on this intellectual adventure. I am also very much indebted to Professor Zhuo Jing-Schmidt, whose dedication to my project has been absolutely extraordinary. I truly could not have asked for a more supportive advisor. I also want to recognize my readers, Professors Alison Groppe and Xin Huang, both of whom are great mentors and all-around lovely individuals. I must mention my former classmate and dear friend Marjolijn Kaiser, who led the way for me and helped me overcome my moments of doubt. Finally, I wish to express my appreciation for my wonderful family. I want to acknowledge my husband, who is an endless source of advice and comfort, my parents and brother, who have given me a lifetime of love, and my in-laws, who have shown me that real feelings of affection need no translation. My Chinese friends and family have had a very difficult time training me not to use niceties with those who matter most. I have been slowly growing to understand such things, and this project has aided me in doing so. Here, I will not say “谢谢,” and I will trust that my professors, friends, and loved ones will all know that my gratitude comes from the heart. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Metaphors with Culture-Specific References ........................................................ 16 Idioms .................................................................................................................... 29 Onomatopoeia ........................................................................................................ 40 Proper Names ......................................................................................................... 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 66 II. TRANSLATIONS ................................................................................................... 70 One Hundred Birds Saluting the Phoenix .............................................................. 70 Paper Dreams ......................................................................................................... 167 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 249 vii CHAPTER I ANALYSIS Introduction Much has been said on the topic of translation, and particularly the topic of translating more marginalized literatures into internationally favored languages such as English. The practice of translating into English has been praised as “an art that seeks to create understanding between cultures” (Balcom 2006: 134), for bringing diverse peoples and ideas together under a lingua franca. But the act of extending the reach of English into works of other languages has also aroused some concern. While George Steiner, one of the twentieth century’s preeminent translation theorists, equates the process of translation with the original act of language production, he also seems to hold a special skepticism towards the proliferation of English, which he sees as “the principle agent in the destruction of natural linguistic diversity” (1975: 470). The issue becomes even more complicated when English is used to render literature from a source language as vastly different as Chinese. Mandarin Chinese boasts the most native speakers of any world language, enjoyed elite status in Asia for centuries, and could be similarly accused of destroying linguistic diversity within its own geographic sphere of influence. Though Chinese can hardly be considered marginal, its power relationship with the English language remains asymmetrical. Nonetheless, both Chinese literary reputation and cultural capital outside of Asia are only beginning to take shape as China strengthens its role as a key player in global economics and diplomacy, meaning that a shift in the valuation of language could be imminent. This being the case, the place where two important world languages and the widely dissimilar cultures and histories that mold and 1 are molded by them intersect remains a pertinent issue. It may be said that a variety of world conditions are converging so as to create a favorable period for the Chinese-to- English translator, who has previously never enjoyed such a wide variety of choice in material, such broad opportunities to push the boundaries of her craft, and such a receptive readership. That said, it is necessary to address the extent to which the translator of a Chinese text actually has access to a general English-speaking audience. During the past decade, a small but vocal group of concerned readers in the United States and United Kingdom has decried the lack of translated literature available to consumers. For these readers, the so- called “Three Percent Problem”—that only about three percent of the books published in the U.S. are translated from non-English sources—is indicative of endemic parochialism (Kehe 2011), a trend that threatens to diminish the positive effects of globalization and emergent multicultural awareness. The three percent statistic appears even more lop- sided in light of the fact that an estimated fifty to sixty percent of published literature in other languages is translated from English (Wischenbart 2007). Readers of non-English literatures can vouch for the fact that this disparity does not signify a scarcity of worthy non-English writings. Moreover, certain parallel trends indicate that disinterest in other cultures may not actually explain non-English literature’s pitiful underrepresentation in the American and British markets. Rüdiger Wischenbart points out that the recent success of multilingual websites, wikis and blogs, independent music labels, and international film festivals suggests that an audience for multilingual or translated material does exist. Rather, the recent demise of translation has come from within the publishing industry itself, brought about by ugly financial disagreements between translators and publishers, 2 marketing shortcomings that prevent translations from reaching their diverse audience members,

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