关键词: 场域理论; 《长恨歌》; 上海书写; 白睿文; 英译; 传播

Abstract:

Based on the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Theory and its key notions of field, habitus and capital, the paper explores the process of English translation, publication and communication of the novel The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, the English version of Chang Hen Ge which is a representative novel written by the famous Chinese female writer Wang Anyi. Then a brief introduction is given to Wang Anyi’s habitus of “depicting Shanghai” and her capital accumulation in the literature field, and to the translator Michael Berry’s translation habitus and the accumulation of different forms of capital in the translation field. The findings are as follows: First, this process of translation, publication and communication is accompanied with the interplay and conflict of interest among various participants in the translation field such as the author, the translator, the book critics and the publishing house. Second, the translator’s habitus and capital play an essential role in the process, as he adopts the translation strategy of foreignization to preserve the writing style of the original novel and the Shanghai regional culture, which is well illustrated with translation examples. Sticking to the spirit of the original novel and resisting the vulgar temptation of the pecuniary gains, the translator makes a successful translation, thus contributing to the communication of Shanghai regional culture portrayed in the original novel.

Keywords: Field Theory; The Song of Everlasting Sorrow; Shanghai culture; Michael Berry; English translation; communication