Abstract:

Cao Yu is considered the founder of modern Chinese drama; he wrote and adapted a total of 13 dramatic works during his lifetime, most of which have been translated into English. These English translations have mainly been published as stand-alone books, with a few appearing in journals or being included in anthologies of translations, involving 19 translators from both China and the West. This paper reviews the English translations of Cao Yu’s plays in terms of the translators and their translations, with a particular focus on the translation of four of his masterpieces, Thunderstorm, The Sunrise, The Wilderness and Peking Man. This study revealed that the English translations of Cao Yu’s works were characterized by slow translation updates, outdated language use in translations, and a lack of translators, which has affected the dissemination and acceptance of Cao Yu’s plays in the English-speaking world to a certain extent. This paper can provide references for translation practitioners, and is important not only for the research on Cao Yu and drama translation studies, but also for the promotion and dissemination of Chinese literature across the world.

Keywords: Cao Yu; theater translation; review; translated plays; translator

摘要：

曹禺是中国现代戏剧的奠基者，一生创作和改编了13部戏剧作品，其中绝大多数已被翻译成英语。在英语世界中，这些英译本多以单行本的形式出版，少数作品发表在期刊或收录在翻译选集当中，涉及中西译者19位。本文从译本情况和译者身份入手，对曹禺剧作的英译情况进行了述评，并重点对其4部代表作《雷雨》《日出》《原野》和《北京人》的翻译情况进行了深入探讨。研究发现，曹禺作品的英译存在翻译更新较慢、译语陈旧和译者缺乏等问题。希望本研究能为翻译工作者提供参考，对曹禺研究、戏剧翻译研究以及中国文学“走出去”产生一定的实践意义和学术价值。

关键词: 曹禺, 戏剧英译, 述评, 译作, 译者