Abstract The dissertation is a diachronic study of Zhou Shoujuan’s translation between 1911 and 1947 of Western fiction. Zhou was an influential and prolific translator in China during this period. However, labelled one of the hardcore members of a notorious literary school—namely, the “mandarin duck and butterfly school” (henceforward abbreviated as the Butterfly school)—he was for a long time marginalized in the history of modern Chinese translated literature, a situation which changed little even with the amazing comeback of Butterfly literature and the rehabilitation of Butterfly writers in the historiography of modern Chinese literature in the mainland since the end of the 1980s. But my study shows that Zhou actually contributed a great deal to modern Chinese translated literature not only in the number of works of Western writers he translated, but also in the brand new narrative techniques of Western fiction he introduced into China since the early 1910s. In this dissertation, Zhou’s translations of Western fiction from 1911 to 1947 are peroidized into two phases: viz., early phase (1911-1919) and later phase (1920-1947). A narratological model is established and applied to the study of Zhou’s translations of Western fiction during these two phases. Namely, Zhou’s translations are analyzed from the perspectives of focalization/point of view, narratorial commentary and means of characterization. The analytical results show that there is actually a big difference between these two phases in terms of the narrative features mentioned above. The dissertation then explores the iii causes of these textual differences on the translator’s level and the socio-cultural level and also discusses the change of translation norms underlying these differences. iv Acknowledgements The idea of conducting a comprehensive survey of Zhou Shoujuan’s fiction translations occurred to me four years ago when I was still an MA student in Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Drawing on insightful advice given by Professor Chu Chi Yu, who became the supervisor of my PhD studies, I converted the idea to a PhD research proposal which was accepted by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. During the study years in the Polytechnic University, I have really been fortunate to have Professor Chu as my supervisor. It was he who wisely counseled me not to attempt a broader comparison of all aspects of Zhou’s translations and their corresponding source texts, but limit myself to a more through analysis of several narrative aspects of them. He also suggested I read works on literary criticism (including classics and some contemporary works) in addition to the books on translation studies. This has proved to be invaluable advice, as such reading experience has shed light on some important issues in the study, such as periodization, literary cannon formation, etc.. For the writing of the dissertation itself, I also am deeply indebted to Professor Chu, who went through every page of the manuscript with a critical eye and drew my attention to numerous points, ranging from broader issues, such as how the arguments should be arranged in order to be presented in a more forceful way, to smaller v questions like diction and structure of the thesis. For his excellent guidance, I want to express my profound gratitude. Many others helped me to complete the dissertation either by elucidating problems or procuring copies of rare materials. Among them I wanted to thank Professor Li Kexing and Professor Brian Holton of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Professor Zhang Meifang of Macau University, Professor Gou Xiquan and Professor Wang Dongfeng of Sun Yat-sen University, Professor Wang Kefei of Beijing University of Foreign Studies, Professor Li Yunxing of Tianjing Normal University, Professor Mu Lei of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and Professor Chen Jianhua of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. And I also thank Dr. John F. Thorne here for providing editorial guidance of the dissertation. I am also grateful for helpful comments from a number of my friends, among whom are Professor Su Jingzhi, Dr. Bai Liping, Dr. Wang Dongmei, Dr. Chen Yu, Agnes Chan, Wen Zhisheng, Zhang Xu, Wang Hui, Feng Jieyun, Wei Rining, Zhang Qingwen, Wang Wei, Li Bo, Xing Jie, Xie Guixia, Huang Libo, Ethan Yeung and many more. Thank all of you for your warm friendship and your unfailing encouragements. Finally, I owe a long-standing debt of gratitude to my wife Deng Jing for her help at every stage of the dissertation’s writing. It was she who provided me with a vi comfortable environment to write the dissertation and gave me sustaining companionship in this project at all times. Thank you for your love and support. vii Contents ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................... V CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 A short biography of Zhou Shoujuan..............................................................................................1 1.2 The gradual process of re-recognizing Butterfly literature...........................................................5 1.3 The study of Zhou Shoujuan’s translations: a literature review ................................................13 1.4 Justifications and motivations for the present research..............................................................19 1.5 Population and periodization ........................................................................................................23 1.6 The organization of the dissertation..............................................................................................26 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY.................................................................................. 28 2.1 Translation research models: the state of the art.........................................................................29 2.2 Linguistic model or DTS model?—towards establishing a model for the present study..........46 2.3 Narratory model: the model of the present research...................................................................53 2.3.1 The narrative sub-model............................................................................................................54 2.3.2 The explanatory sub-model .......................................................................................................60 CHAPTER THREE POINT OF VIEW IN ZHOU SHOUJUAN’S EARLY TRANSLATIONS64 3.1 The study and classification of point of view in narrative fiction: an overview ........................64 3.1.1 Omniscient point of view ..........................................................................................................67 3.1.2 Internal point of view ................................................................................................................68 3.1.3 External point of view ...............................................................................................................70 3.2 Point of view in Zhou’s early translations ....................................................................................72 3.2.1 The translation of omniscient point of view..............................................................................74 viii 3.2.1.1 Retaining the omniscient point of view..............................................................................75 3.2.1.2 Adapting the omniscient point of view...............................................................................84 3.2.2 The translation of internal point of view .................................................................................107 3.2.2.1 Retaining the original internal point of view....................................................................108 3.2.2.2 Adapting the original internal point of view.....................................................................112 3.2.2.3 Translating character narration—a sub-type of the internal point of view .......................122 3.3 Summary .......................................................................................................................................128 CHAPTER FOUR NARRATORIAL COMMENTARY IN ZHOU SHOUJUAN’S EARLY TRANSLATIONS................................................................................................................... 132 4.1 Narratorial commentary: a definition and its omnipresence in fiction....................................134 4.2 Narratorial commentary: a classification...................................................................................138 4.2.1 Directional narratorial commentary.........................................................................................142 4.2.2 Substantive narratorial commentary........................................................................................146 4.2.2.1 Explanatory narratorial commentary................................................................................146 4.2.2.2 Evaluative narratorial commentary ..................................................................................148 4.3 Narratorial commentary in Zhou’s early translations ..............................................................150 4.3.1 The translation of directional commentary..............................................................................152