









































Communication, Society and Media 
ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) 

Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 
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Original Paper 

A Comparative Study of Translation of The Spyring or Lust, 

Cautionby Eileen Chang and Julia Lovell in View of 

Translator’s Subjectivity 
Yuting Cao1& Dan Cui2* 

1 Student of the School of Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Jilin International Studies 

University, Changchun, Jilin, China 
2 Postdoc of Literature of School of English, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China; Doc of  

Literature, Professor, Dean of Institute of International Languages and Cultures, Leader of 

Comparative Literature and Cross-culture Discipline, Jilin International Studies University, Changchun, 

Jilin, China; Doc supervisor of Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin, China 
* Dan Cui, Correspondence author, E-mail: summerelephant@126.com 

 

Received: September 30, 2022     Accepted: October 14, 2022    Online Published: October 28, 2022 

doi:10.22158/csm.v5n3p1                         URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/csm.v5n3p1 

 

Abstract 
In view of The Spyring or Lust, Caution has already become one of the modern Chinese classic novels 

as one of the representative works by Eileen Chang with strong influence in China to a deep degree for 

sketching China’s historical situation and cultural characteristics. Since its publication, it has been 

translated into several languages and appreciated by readers of all works of many countries. In view of 

the English version as a success, Eileen Chang, the author In fact, the subjectivity of the Chinese and 

English translators like Eileen Chang and Julia Lovell in particular, plays a pivotal role in the 

translation process. From an interdisciplinary perspective, a comparative analysis can be made in four 

aspects: the translator’s subjective consciousness and sub-consciousness, subjective creativity, 

intentionality and selectivity, and the choice of obedience or resistance in the translation process. 

Moreover, since the author is the translator in fewer cases, it is of great research value to study the 

comparison between the author-translator and the reader-translator, which can help culture exchange 

and communication and set up a sample for the channels to make works of china more adaptable to the 

acceptability of foreign readers while spreading Chinese literature and culture of high quality. 

Keywords 
Eileen Chang, Julia Lovell, Spyring or Lust, Caution, translation, subjectivity, acceptability 



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1. Research Background 

Lust, Caution has entered the Penguin Classics series, which was endowed high popularity among the 

West. Before its publication, Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged was the only modern and 

contemporary Chinese work to be included in the series in 2005. As the 2nd work translated into the 

west, this book illustrates again Chinese particular characteristics and it is of great value and practical 

significance to study the translation of Lust, Caution(Qin, 2010). Both Eileen Chang and Julia Lovell as 

translators have contributed to and written extensively in the translation of Chinese and English 

literature, including Lust, Caution, a representative translation of both. Due to differences in their 

cultural backgrounds, translation strategies, and styles, their translations also possess individual 

strengths. So far, researchers have focused on ecological translation, translation adaptation theory, 

multi-dimensional translation, genre, etc., which have achieved remarkable results. However, in view 

of increasingly crucial role of the translator’s subjectivity throughout the translation process, and the 

rare status of Eileen Chang as an author-translator in modern literary translation, though her reputation 

as a writer far outweighs her achievements as a translator, her translation achievements are not to be 

taken lightly. In the 1950s, Eileen Chang aimed to enter the mainstream of English writers and “break 

into the American press” by writing in English (Zhou, 2007). Almost at the same time, she started to 

translate her own works into English. As a native English-speaking Sinologist, Julia Lovell fully 

demonstrates her strengths in translating Chinese and English works. When selecting texts, Lovell 

considers them more comprehensively, objectively, and deeply. Possessing her own standards and 

principles in translation, she highlights alienating the classic works of non-mainstream culture (Chinese 

culture) from mainstream ones (British and American literature) (Qin, 2010), thus illustrating a strong 

resistance to creative translation.  

As a matter of fact, four dimensions of translators’ subjectivity and their characteristics from an 

interdisciplinary perspective proposed by Liu Junping focus on four dimensions of translators’ 

subjective consciousness, and sub-consciousness, translators’ subjective creativity, translators’ 

intentionality and selectivity, and translators’ manipulation or resistance to position translators. 

Researchers can conduct a comparative study of translators’ background, translation strategy, style, 

creativity, initiative, and passivity, thus providing an in-depth analysis of the translation and the 

translator. 

Both Eileen Chang and Julia Lovell are highly learned, literary and experienced translators. Eileen 

Chang, taught English by her family’s teachers in her early years and later educated at St. Mary’s Girls’ 

School, possesses a solid bilingual ability in both Chinese and English. She used to refuse to have her 

works translated by others due to her strength in self-translation which lies in her understanding and 

appreciation of her own works. On the one hand, she makes changes in the works through her 

translation that is easy for readers to understand, and on the other hand, she aims to spread Chinese 

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characteristics and culture and promote exchanges between the East and West. Graduating from 

Chinese Department of Cambridge University with a Ph. D degree in Modern and Contemporary 

Chinese Literature, Julia Lovell enjoys a long-standing understanding and study of Chinese language 

and culture. As a British native speaker, she is familiar with English literature and Western culture, and 

plays her role in translation career as a bridge connecting Chinese and Western culture and literature 

based on her translation principle of “faithful re-creation of the source text”. Based on the differences 

in the subjectivity of two translators, including their identities, cultures, language backgrounds, 

translation strategies, styles, etc., the two versions of translation have their own distinctive features and 

different effects on audiences. We hope that the comparative exploration of Chang as author-translator 

and Lovell as reader-translators can offer a new perspective into understanding how the subjectivity of 

translation influences the translated versions and the final reading effects of targeted readers. 

 

2. Comparison of Translation from Perspective of Translator’s Subjectivity 

2.1 Subject Consciousness and Sub-consciousness 

The subjectivity of the translator is reflected between rationality and irrationality, and consciousness 

and the sub-consciousness. The translation is the initiative and creative activity of the translator, and 

the author’s own experience of language and the text survives only through the translator’s translation 

and interpretation (Liu, 2008). Subjective consciousness is embodied by the translator’s interpretation 

of the text based on his or her special readership and re-creation of the translated text based on his or 

her own comprehension. Eileen Chang owns a unique audience view：In “On Writing”, she said, “there 

are two ways to satisfy the readers: (1) say what people expect to say; (2) and tell the people what they 

expect to hear”(Zhang, 1997). However, this view of readers attaches too much importance to readers’ 

understanding and to some extent neglects the cultural transmission and the characteristics of the 

original text. For example, 

①马路阔，薄薄的洋铁皮似的铃声在半空中载沉载浮，不传过来，听上去很远。(Chang, 1978, 

p. 16) 

Chang: “A bell was being rung half-heartedly, its tinny, well-spaced ding-a-ling-a-ling cutting 

across space and time like a dotted line.”(Chang, 2008, p. 9) 

Lovell: “Someone was lethargically ringing a bell, the thin, tinny sound barely carrying over the 

wide street.”（Lovell, 2007,p. 84） 

Although the two translators both possess a certain mastery of literary modification techniques, Chang, 

as a literary writer, is relatively higher in view of creation motivation. Since Chang’s translation is 

author to translator, while Lovell is reader to translator. Chang focuses on the bell, and her identity as 

an author influences her to adopt the creative techniques and rhetoric in translating, and by using 

“half-heartedly” to anthropomorphize the “bell”, she conveys the status of sinking and floating; as 



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Lovell stands from the perspective of the bell-ringer, tracing its origin, the ups and downs of the bell 

reveals the state of the bell-ringer’ s carelessness, so Lovell adopts this word “lethargically” to show 

the image of the bell-ringer. The source text does not mention the ringer, but Lovell analyzes in 

accordance with readers’ cognition and paraphrase based on her own feelings. As a reader-translator, 

her subjectivity is specifically conveyed in her interpreting the text reflecting her subjective 

consciousness and from her subjective senses of the novel. 

②一种失败的预感，像丝袜上一道裂痕、阴凉地在腿肚子上悄悄往上爬。(Chang, 1978, p. 6) 

Chang:“A sense of failure began to make itself felt like the insidious creep of a ladder up a nylon 

stocking”. (Chang, 2008, p. 5) 

Lovell: “She felt a kind of chilling premonition of failure, like a long snag in a silk stocking, 

silently creeping up her body.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 45） 

In the source language, no personal subject exists and it conveys the heroine‘s feelings, but in 

translation, Chang adopts direct translation without emphasizing the subject, while Lovell translates the 

subject “she” and writes that “she” possesses such a sense of feeling. It is more immersive. Although 

“ladder” is more authentic, Lovell does not translate “裂痕” from the source text but harnesses “snag” 

to visualize the cracks. It is translated as a protrusion—like a protrusion on a stocking, silently creeping 

up to her body. Lovell applied metaphor here to describe “裂痕” as “snag”. From a study (Lv&Wang, 

2020) on the frequency of her adding metaphor in translation, we can observe a total number of 16 

times her adding metaphors in Lust, Caution. Following the general claims and thoughts of 

reader-oriented theories, especially Jauss’ s emphasis on the reader’s mind as the origin for meaning 

generation and Iser pinpointing the need of readers to do active reading and create meanings for 

producing various meanings that constitute the cluster and spectrum of meanings. Therefore, it is 

feasibly true that when reading the same novel, different readers from different circumstances tend to 

produce different opinions and thoughts. As a translator, Lovell incorporates her personal feelings into 

her translation, which leads to representing her subjective imagination and creating her own style in the 

translation version. 

2.2 Subjective Creativity 

As a scholar of comparative literature, Xie Tianzhen divides the creative treason of literary translators 

into four types in his Translation: 1.characteristic translation; 2. miss-translation and omissions; 3. brief 

translation and compilation; 4. Conversionand adaption (Xie, 1999, pp. 146-146). Through innovative 

forms of methods such as new expressions, new contents, etc., the translators’ level of knowledge, 

linguistic ability, and expressive style can be reflected. Here is an example: 

①易太太不免要添些东西。到了这购物的天堂，总不能入宝山空手回。(Chang, 1978, p. 1) 

Chang: “But Mrs. Tai had gone out a lot.”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

Lovell: “Yee Tai-tai had no intention of wasting the golden purchasing opportunity offered by a 

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stopover in the commercial paradise of Hong Kong.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 27） 

Compared with the source text, Eileen Chang’s self-translated version possesses many features, such as 

adding, deleting or even changing the plot, which does not conform to translation convention (Wang, 

2009).The phrase “often went out” does not necessarily represent “going out shopping”, and since there 

is no such expression in western culture, so it is not easily understood by foreign readers, and it also 

reflects Chang’s concise writing style and subjective creativity of applying brief translation. 

In contrast, Lovell does not exert her creativity since her translation adopts the additive translation, 

adding Hong Kong that is not obviously written to highlight the location where the storyline takes place. 

From the perspective of the translator’s subjectivity, Lovell aims to emphasize the authenticity of the 

plot and simultaneouslythe cultural output that helps expand the city’s popularity. It can be seen from 

their translations that Eileen Chang’s creative treason is more obvious. As the author translator, her 

translation shows simplicity, and to some extent, she will change the meaning of the original text and 

even recreate it. 

②不过”无毒不丈夫”。不是这样的男子汉，她也不会爱他。(Chang, 1978, p. 17) 

Chang: “He had no choice but to kill her, being the kind of man that she had been in love with. ‘no 

venom, no hero’as the ancient saying went.”(Chang, 2008, p. 10) 

Lovell: “But real men have to be ruthless. She wouldn’t have loved him if he’d been the 

sentimental type.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 89） 

“无毒不丈夫” is a Chinese proverb originating from Guan Hanqing’ s “Wang Jiang Ting”, signifying 

that one must take every means (even illegally) to achieve the goal without demonstrating any 

sympathy. In translation, Chang adopts the adapted translation, thus giving full play to the creativity of 

her subject and applying the format of the English proverb “no pains, no gains”, which is antithetical in 

form (double negation)and unobtrusive in implication(heroic “毒”), while adding “as the ancient saying 

goes” (not shown in the original text). Therefore, it reflects that sucha Chinese proverb is of the wide 

acceptance and highly Chinese cultural traits. Such away of handling exerts an influential effect on 

cultural communication. However, Lovell directly translates it as “a real man must be merciless”. It is 

not ambiguous in meaning and can help make readers comprehend its connotation without emphasizing 

that it is a Chinese proverb that is not conducive to cultural communication. From the perspective of 

subjectivity, on the one hand, Lovell, as a Sinologist, is equipped with much knowledge of the Chinese 

proverb but she adopts conversion by translating “男子汉” into “non-sentimental”. Besides, she takes 

the reader’s view and takes the readers’ understanding as the ultimate purpose to achieve the effect 

through direct translation. 

Both versions can well reflect the creative treason of the two translators. They do not carry out 

word-for-word translation according to the original text but express the true meaning of “无毒不丈夫” 

through modification with familiar sentence patterns of double negation. 



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③房间那头整个一面墙上都挂着土黄厚呢窗帘，上面印有特大的砖红凤尾草图案，一根根横

斜着也有一人高。(Chang, 1978, p. 16) 

Chang: “One wall was entirely covered from floor to ceiling by a fluted curtain of sand-colored 

wool with a rust-red palm leaf pattern.”(Chang, 2008, p. 2) 

Lovell: “The wall behind him was swathed in heavy, yellowish-brown wool curtains printed with a 

brick-red phoenix-tail fern design, each blade almost six feet long.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 31） 

“有一人高” is translated into “from floor to ceiling” as exaggerated in relation to the source text. 

However, such way of portraying Mr. Yi’s curtains not only reflects Mr. Yi’s strong and sensitive 

political and social background, but also paves the way for later description of Mr. Yi’s worry of 

assassins. In view of Chang’s subjectivity, exaggeration is also a common way of writing technique that 

complies with her style and also represents her characteristics of translation. Here, Eileen Chang’s 

creative treason is reflected in her modification of the stylistic effect of the original text. Some 

exaggeration techniques are used in the novel not only to make the style more literary, but also to create 

a vivid situation for readers to be personally involved in. 

2.3 Intentionality and Selectivity 

Intentionality refers to the subject’s ability to construct conscious phenomena, and it is believed that 

any human comprehension is constructed by the subject’s consciousness (Tan, 2015). In translation 

process, the intentionality of the translator refers to the intentional behavior in a specific situation. 

Common intentions include cultural output, readability of the translation, etc. The translator’s 

selectivity is mainly reflected in the following aspects: the translator’s annotations, notes, and 

explanations of the selected books, the translator’s consciousness to follow certain translation standards 

and strategic use, lexical, syntactic, and stylistic decisions, etc. Translators distinguish themselves from 

each other in their decision due to their different cultural and knowledge backgrounds, strategic 

preferences, and styles, etc. Specifically, Eileen Chang often adds annotations, adopts rhetorical words, 

and implements provincial translation. In contrast, Lovell often chooses the equivalent expressions, 

rarely adds annotations, and adopts “faithful recreation”. 

2.3.1 The Selection of Words and Annotations 

①左右首两个太太穿着黑呢斗篷，翻领下露出一根沉重的金链条，双行横牵过去扣住领口。

(Chang, 1978, p. 1) 

Chang: “Two of the ladies sat facing each other in identical black velvet cloaks held together by a 

heavy gold chain under the collar.”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

Lovell: “The two ladies—tai-tais—immediately to her left and right were both wearing black wool 

capes, each held fast at the neck by a heavy double gold chain that snaked out from beneath the cloak’s 

turned-down collar.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 26） 

“太太” is translated as “lady” by both translators, but Lovell adds “tai-tais”for further explanation 



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through naturalization. Since Lovell herself is a native English speaker, her translation aims to convey 

the designation and targets to demonstrate the charming characteristics of foreign culture through the 

pronunciation of Chinese characteristics. Naturally, it also attracts readers’ interest in Chinese culture 

and thus realizes the function of spreading culture through translation. 

In the book A Textbook of Translation, Newmark explicitly states: “I define culture as a way of life, a 

state of life specific to a group, which is usually expressed by the specific language of that group”. 

(Newmark, 2001). Therefore, some cultural words themselves have the attributes of a certain group, 

and the translator needs to take the particularity of the group into consideration when translating. 

Therefore, the cloak is a fashionable object with wives of warlords in Shanghai, which is mostly made 

of silk, fur and tweed named “黑呢” in the text. It is a kind of tweed, often made of wool plus chemical 

fiber or pure chemical fiber, and Chang translates it as “velvet”. This is related to her comprehension of 

the social background whereas Lovell’s translation lies in “wool” as a kind of animal hair. Both 

translations conform to the actual situation, but the material “velvet” has been popular among the 

European royal family since Renaissance, and such material is too expensive for ordinary people to 

afford. Therefore, in view of portraying the identity of the characters, “velvet” is more suitable than 

“wool”. Also, it is charged with more social significance and can imply the wearer’s social status. “翻

领” is not exactly translated by Chang since her “collar” can refer to either a standing collar or a lapel 

and she exerted her subjective initiative to pursue a concise version. Lovell translates it as 

“turned-down collar”, which is more consistent with the original text. This can reflect Lovell’s 

long-standing pursuit for true representation through her translation by seeking fully equivalent 

expressions to the source text and attracting the readers as well. 

Also, some of Chinese culture-charged expressions have been adopted to portray the leading characters 

vividly. The following is chosen as a typical example:  

②易太太是在自己家里，没穿她那件一口钟，也仍旧”坐如钟”，发福了。(Chang, 1978, p. 1) 

Chang: “It has been said in the ancient classics that a woman’s ideal posture is ‘like a bell when 

seated’”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

“Mrs. Tai, the hostess, was as firmly set on her chair as a bell even if she didn’t have her cloak 

on.”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

“But Shahlu Li looked a bit out of place amidst these bell-like shapes at the table.”(Chang, 2008, p. 

1) 

Lovell: “Yee Tai-tai was chez elle, so she had dispensed with her own cape; but even without it, 

her figure still seemed to bell outward from her neck, with all the weight the years had put on her.”

（Lovell, 2007, p. 27） 

In the original text, the phrase “坐如钟，发福了” is intended to highlight Mrs. Yi’s plump body in 

Chinese conventional colloquialism and both translators make use of their initiative respectively. Chang, 

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based on her accumulated knowledge of Chinese culture, first explained the original meaning of “坐如

钟”(sitting like a bell) in Chinese culture: dignified and stable like a bell. Later, she writes “as a bell” 

and “bell-like shapes” in contrast to the dignity of the former and the bloatedness of the latter. Such 

translation well depicts the physical characteristics of Mrs. Yi and other wives, and also shows their 

status background. However, since “bell” is utilized to designate dignity in gesture, readers are likely to 

consider it similarly and may not be able to tell the implied implication of bloatedness. In contrast, 

non-native speaker Lovell is not expected to know the exact meaning of the word, and she verbalizes 

the bell and adds an explanation of the weight of the years on Mrs. Yi’s body, functioning to make her 

bloated image vivid and clear. She chooses literal translation adding paraphrases to preserve the 

dynamic process of the source text on the one hand, and to explain the real connotation of bell’s 

verbalization on the other hand. 

③麻将桌上白天也开着强光灯，洗牌的时候一只只钻戒光芒四射。白桌布四角缚在桌腿上，

绷紧了越发一片雪白，白得耀眼。(Chang, 1978, p. 1) 

Chang: “Though it was daytime, they had turned on a strong light directly over the taut white 

tablecloth tied on to the four legs of the mahjong table. Crimson finger-nails, dark against the flat 

glaring whiteness, scurried among the bamboo tiles as all four pairs of hands stirred the tiles up for the 

next game.”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

Lovell: “Though it was still daylight, the hot lamp was shining full-beam over the mahjong table. 

Diamond rings flashed under its glare as their wearers clacked and reshuffled their tiles. The tablecloth, 

tied down over the table legs, stretched out into a sleek plain of blinding white.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 25） 

“Diamond rings flashed in their wake.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 25） 

In view of syntax, Lovell is accustomed to implementing English expressions that are more 

object-dominated than person-dominated, while Chang’s novel is endowed with distinctive and strong 

language colors and resonant tones. The flexible adoption of the rhetorical methods of thetemporary 

transferred meaning of words gives rise to variability in combining word implications. All these writing 

characteristics are reflected in her translation and influence the wording and effect of her translation. 

The expression “洗牌” is translated into “stir” by Chang, which usually refers to “stirring of molecules, 

liquids, and mixtures”, but mahjong as a solid item is not suitable for such an expression. Chang 

employs it to reflect the confusion between the tiles, thus reflecting the complexity of the relationship 

between the characters. Lovell adopts “clack and reshuffle”, the former of which shows onomatopoeia - 

crackling sound - to vividly depict the scene of shuffling, and this sound is not directly reflected in the 

original text but is the translator’s own sensory perception through reading the source text. It belongs to 

the expression of the translator’s subjective initiative. The latter is commonly used to refer to the 

shuffling of cards. 

2.3.2 Translation Strategy Selection 



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①房间那头整个一面墙上都挂着土黄厚呢窗帘，上面印有特大的砖红凤尾草图案，一根根横

斜着也有一人高。(Chang, 1978, p. 16) 

Chang: “One wall was entirely coveredfrom floor to ceiling by a fluted curtain of sand-colored 

wool with a rust-red palm leaf pattern.”(Chang, 2008, p. 2) 

Lovell: “The wall behind him was swathed in heavy, yellowish-brown wool curtains printed with a 

brick-red phoenix-tail fern design, each blade almost six feet long.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 30） 

This sentence is an unmarked passive expression in Chinese, which is converted into a passive sentence 

in English by the two translators, but the wording is different. Chang adopts “covered” while Lovell 

takes “swathed” for the former is not a concreted description, indicating “to hide from sight”and it is 

equivalent to the original counterpart featured with its own translation characteristics, i.e., simplicity; 

as Lovell proposes “faithful recreation” that is, the ultimate target of translation is being faithfulto the 

original text and slight changes are necessary on the condition that it aims to convey the meaning (Ji, 

2021). “Swathed” showcases “wrapped”, which is the feeling experienced by the translator in the 

original text, and then deepens its degree, echoing the later text when Mr. Yi returned home from 

a narrow escape and saw the heavy curtains and felt worried about the assassins hidden secretly. The 

translation echoes the worry that Mr. Yi could not even find out whether an assassin is out there. Since 

Eileen Chang is also good at creating small space and environment tailored for the real psychology of 

the characters through the perspective of the characters and the help of the environment, therefore it can 

accurately reflect and project the real spiritual world of the characters (Dong, 2019). 

②时间还早，咖啡馆没什么人，点着一对对杏子红百折绸罩壁灯，地方很大，都是小圆桌子，

暗花细白麻布桌布，保守性的餐厅模样。(Chang, 1978, p. 4) 

Chang: “It was small and dark. The narrow passage where she went to telephonelooked and 

smelled like a crowded train with its lamp lit chocolate brown walls, an icebox chug-chugging away in 

the vicinity and rows of the waiters’ clothes hanging down from high hooks overhead, white smocks 

and long gowns with soiled cloth linings.”(Chang, 2008, p. 4) 

Lovell: “As it was only mid-afternoon, the café was almost deserted. Its large interior was lit by 

wall lamps with pleated apricot silk shades, its floor populated by small round tables covered in cloths 

of fine white linen jacquard—an old- fashioned, middlebrow kind of establishment.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 

37） 

Chang very often omits the original contents, thus reflecting the simplicity of her translation. For 

example, in this case, she simplifies “杏子红百折绸罩壁灯”(apricot red silk-covered pleated wall 

lamp) into “lamp” while Lovell not only translates all the information accurately through delicate 

conveying of the description but also adopts the technique of exaggeration through “deserted” to 

outline such scenario. It is also part of her principle of practicing faithful re-creation in translation. For 

Lovell, the details are also expressed by choosing comparable words to reproduce the rhythm and 

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scenes of the original text as much as possible. 

③ 稍嫌尖窄的额，发脚也参差不齐，不知道怎么倒给那秀丽的六角脸更添了几分秀气。脸

上淡妆，只有两片精工雕琢的薄嘴唇涂得亮汪汪的，娇红欲滴，云鬓蓬松往上扫，后发齐肩，光

着手臂，电蓝水渍纹缎齐膝旗袍，小圆角衣领只半寸高，像洋服一样。(Chang, 1978, p. 1) 

Chang: “But Shahlu Li looked a bit out of place amidst these bell-like shapes at the table. She was 

petite with deep curves, wearing a brief dark gown covered with big pink peonies. She had disdainful 

eyes heavily fringed and lifted smokily at the corners. Her face was a pale gold heart. She was very 

pretty.”(Chang, 2008, p. 1) 

Lovell: “The harsh artificial light silhouetted to full advantage the generous curve of Chia-chih’ s 

bosom, and laid bare the elegant lines of her hexagonal face, its beauty somehow accentuated by the 

imperfectly narrow forehead, by the careless, framing wisps of hair. Her makeup was understated, 

except for the glossily rouged arcs of her lips. She had pinned her hair nonchalantly back from her face, 

then allowed to hang down to her shoulders. Her sleeveless cheongsam of electricmoiré satin reached 

to the knees, its shallow, rounded collar standing only half an inch tall, in the Western style. A brooch 

fixed to the collar matched her diamond-studded sapphire button earrings.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 25） 

First, Chang’s concise style can be seen in length in comparison with Lovell’s, where she adopts a 

strategy of massive deletion, which ostensibly contradicts the traditional view of translation as faithful 

to the original and essentially wins the reader over. This translation strategy reduces the complex 

description of imagery, thus making it less difficult to comprehend for readers. After a lengthy 

description, Chang directly employs the conclusive sentence “she was very pretty” to reiterate heroin’s 

beauty. Lovell, on the other hand, maintains faithful to the original text and describes the heroine’s 

image to the fullest, using vocabularies that are somewhat obscure but reflect Wang Jiazhi’s image, 

such as “cheongsam”, “moiré satin”, “diamond-studded sapphire” etc. It also reflects her subjectivity of 

applying “faithful recreation”. 

Also, another example deserves our attention in portraying the figures through simplified or 

complicated corresponding translation:  

④穿着灰色西装，生得苍白清秀，前面头发微秃，褪出一只奇长的花尖；鼻子长长的，有点”

鼠相”，据说也是主贵的。(Chang, 1978, p. 2) 

Chang: “He was a small man in a grey suit with thin hair receding from a delicate mousy 

face.”(Chang, 2008, p. 2) 

Lovell: “Mr. Yee came in, dressed in a gray suit; Yee looked even shorter than usual. His face was 

pale, finely drawn, and crowned by a receding hairline that faded away into petal-shaped peaks above 

his temples. His nose was distinguished by its narrowed, almost rat like tip.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 31） 

Chang selects three main points “灰色西装 ”(gray suit), “头秃 ”(bald head), “鼠相 ”(mouse 

face)respectively to describe the figure so that a vivid character emerges in the translation and she quits 



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translating “花尖” and “主贵”, which are culturally loaded words difficult to comprehend and the 

omission will not interfere with the appropriateness of conveying. “花尖” stems out of Sichuan dialect, 

referring to the edge of the hair on the forehead, and “high flower tip” indicates intelligence. “主贵” in 

Henan dialect is usually adopted to modify a person that is delicate and precious. Chang tries to seek 

for a balance between the cultural alienation of the original text and the reader’s acceptability, and 

specifically, she aims to convey the unique cultural connotation of the source text to the reader to a 

certain extent but does not anticipate this practice to exert too much negative impact on reader’s 

reading interest（Liu & Xiang，2011）. Based on the principle of faithfulness, Lovell translates almost 

every detail ranging from “头秃”(a receding hairline), “花尖”(petal-shaped peaks) to “鼠相”(ratlike 

tip), etc. to figuratively portray Mr. Yi’s essential features and exert profound effects on the target 

readers. 

2.4 Manipulation (submission) and Resistance 

Fidelity to the original language and culture in translation and maintaining the clarity and readability of 

the translation demonstrate the subject’s submission. On the contrary, if the translator pursues the 

exotic and cultural otherness in the translation, thus showing the translator’s resistance to the 

subject(Liu, 2008). 

①“我还正想着手风转了。”刚胡了一牌的黑斗篷呻吟着说。(Chang, 1978, p. 2) 

Chang: “‘And I was just thinking that my luck was turning,’Mrs. Sun groaned as she rearranged 

her tiles.”(Chang, 2008, p. 3) 

Lovell: “‘And just when I thought my luck was changing,’ muttered the winning black cape.”

（Lovell, 2007, p. 34） 

In mahjong, “手风转了”refers that one’s luck is about to turn back, and “胡了”illustrates “win”. The 

translation “luck was turning” means “every dog has his day”. It is more in line with the situation, since 

there is no direct equivalent between Chinese and English, and the lady “moaned” so that the readers 

can clearly understand that she had been losing money, and she just started to have good luck. However, 

something happened to heroin and she called a halt. As the author, Chang harnesses the words of life to 

portray the scene directly, such as “胡了”(win), and as the translator, when without any equivalent 

word, she should consider how to reflect the essence of the original word and its style, thus both 

translators consider the next action should be shuffling that is conventionally translated as “rearranged 

tiles”. Here Chang translates it as “rearranged her tiles”, using pronoun “her” to reflect the winner, also 

giving evidence that Chang as the translator is restricted by the target language and subjectivity. Lovell 

directly translates into “winning” to portray the lady in the black cloak won, which is easier for the 

reader to grasp the meaning, but it also demonstrates that the translator’s subjectivity is constrained by 

the reader. In order to achieve semantic equivalence through cultural transformation rather than adding 

culturally loaded words that are not easy to understand, Lovell reflects her submission here to give 



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priority to readers. 

This work is full of Chinese culture and both translators are good at handling it motivated by their own 

judgment over the function of translation. While face up with the lack of cultural correspondence, the 

translators deal with them respectively and thus illustrate their stands. We would like to take the 

following case as an example:  

②“易先生帮帮忙，帮帮忙！三缺一伤阴骘的。先打着，马太太这就去打电话找搭子。”(Chang, 

1978, p. 3) 

Chang: “Ah, come on, Mr. Tai!” urged Mrs. Sun. “It’s a sin to refuse when it’s san ch’uch yih, 

three lacking one.”(Chang, 2008, p. 3) 

Lovell: “Do, Mr. Yee! Mah jong’s no fun with only three. Play just for a little, while Ma Tai-tai 

telephones for areplacement.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 36） 

“三缺一伤阴骘的” refers to the lack of necessary participants when playing mahjong and the other one 

who doesn’t serve as a member will hurt his yin virtue (agooddeedtothedoer’screditinthenextworld). 

Taoism has Wenchangdijun Yinzhiwen, one of the Taoist bookson encouraging virtue, advising people 

to accumulate more yin merit and yin virtue, for good not to make a name for themselves, alone not to 

do evil, so that they will be secretly blessed with blessings and longevity. As for cultural default, 

translators often possess a clearer understanding of the cultural default in the original text from the 

perspective of the target language culture, so that they can make appropriate compensatory attempts in 

translation (Liu & Xiang, 2011). Here, Chang adopts naturalization by linking the common ground 

between Chinese and Western languages and translates “阴骘” as “sin”, a word with very religious 

connotation in the west, thus better translating the traditional origin of the word “阴骘” and its 

religious connotation. “Sin” is of high religious sense in western world and thus such implementation 

strongly conveys the connotation through seeking out correspondence social interpretation though it 

inevitably sacrifices the original signified meaning in China. Here, both translators focus on readers’ 

understanding but do not emphasize cultural transmission, because “三缺一伤阴骘的” not only 

possesses no cultural equivalent but also is difficult to explain further. Then the two translators 

demonstrate their compliance. The transliteration of the word “三缺一” is a combination of 

pronunciation and interpretation, which not only exports the culture of mahjong but also allows readers 

to understand it. In contrast, Lovell’s translation of “三缺一” neither translates the implication of “阴骘

(yin virtue)” nor reflects its genre as a proverb. She only makes it easily accepted without potentially 

conveying the cultural transmission and such practice actually echoes her principle of sticking to the 

original fact-the demonstration of loyalty. Her submission is obviously revealed for applying for 

naturalization. However, when loyalty damages acceptability, flexibility of translation is in need. 

Therefore, when it comes to absence of cultural correspondence, Lovell chooses to comply by 

paraphrasing the meaning, but actually hardly promotes the cultural exchange further. The two 

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culture-loaded words in this sentence both have unique cultural meanings and are not common. In 

translation, under the circumstance where alienation can hardly achieve the ideal effects of information 

transmission, it would be preferred for the translators as obedient as possible to explain them in the 

target language. 

③ “特务不分家”，不是有这句话？(Chang, 1978, p. 16) 

Chang: “Since the war began there had been this saying, ‘teh wu pu fung chia, special agents are 

all one family,’ because they could switch sides with ease.”(Chang, 2008, p. 10) 

Lovell: “He had heard or read somewhere that all spies are brothers; that spies can feel a loyalty to 

one another stronger than the causes that divide them.”（Lovell, 2007, p. 86） 

As a proverb, Chang still exploits phonetic translation and interpretation, and by combining 

naturalization and defamiliarization, she aims not only to increase readability but also to focus on 

cultural output. Especially when the culture-loaded word is of great significance in the original text, 

since Eileen Chang translated “色戒” as “The Spyring” because “特务不分家” is a proverb with a 

strong connection to the content of the article, which is suitable for alienated translation so as to spread 

culture. Two reasons can be attributed to Chang’s choice of Tama-style pinyin over modern pinyin: first, 

it was created by the British Minister to China, Wittoma, and others, and was more influential at that 

time; second, Wittoma-style pinyin was widely employed for pronouncing names and places before 

China promoted the modern Pinyin in 1958, which coincided with the novel setting. “不分家”is 

directly translated by Chang’s “family”, whereas Lovell focuses on the reader’s reaction and 

acceptance rather than cultural transmission, so the translation is naturalized. Therefore, when 

conducting translation, Lovell chooses to keep the number of footnotes and endnotes to a minimum, 

preferably incorporating the background information that needs to be annotated into the translation 

naturally to avoid affecting the readability of the translation (Ji, 2021）. The distance between the 

translator and the author and their works leads to cultural differences. Lovell makes readers understand 

the implication of domestication, but the two cultures are completely separated. “Brothers” is used 

metaphorically to indicate seemingly similar sharing of the same brotherhood, which is more in line 

with the English expression. In a religious sense, it also refers to male members of the same religious 

organization, and in this case, it may also indicate that all the agents share similar purposes and pursue 

the same kind of interests, just as the members of a certain religion have the same belief. Lovell is 

aware of the cultural differences between China and the West, and in the translation process, she pays 

much attention to the gap between English and Chinese languages and cultures and seeks to replace 

them in English with languages that are similar to Chinese cultural customs or culturally loaded words. 

In the process of translation, she reflects her own translator’s subjectivity but is more or less limited by 

the target language. 

 



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3. Conclusion 

 

Table 1. Comparison of Subjectivity 

 Subject consciousness 

and sub-consciousness 

Subjective 

creativity 

Intentionality 

and selectivity 

Manipulation 

(submission)/ 

resistance 

Eileen Chang Author-translator; 

Individuality 

Simplicity; 

Rhetoric 

Characteristics: 

Annotation, 

rhetorical vocabulary 

Strategy: 

Omission 

Objective: 

equal emphasis on 

cultural communication 

and target readers’ 

acceptance 

domestication,  

(foreignisation) 

Julia Lovell Reader-translator Faithfulness Characteristics: 

Faithful words 

Strategy: 

faithful recreation 

Purpose: 

Reader comprehension 

domestication, 

less foreignization  

 

Actually it can be seen that both translators performed differently in view of translation and their 

subjectivity has exerted a great influence on the output of translation. Both Eileen Chang and Julia 

Lovell aim to promote the exchange of Chinese and Western literature and culture in their translation 

practice. From the levels of translator’s consciousness and sub-consciousness, Eileen Chang’s identity 

as an author-translator makes use of her writing characteristics, and her unique understanding of her 

own work contributes to the rhetorical content, euphemism, and profound connotation of her translation. 

As a reader-translator, Julia Lovell’s subjectivity based on her personal understanding and her literary 

background illustrates her translation style in a much more objective, authentic, and clear way. In view 

of translator’s creativity, Chang’s translation is simple and she uses rhetorical techniques like 

exaggeration and metaphor. However, though Lovell’s translation is more faithful to the original text, it 

is inevitably influenced by her creativity in the case of translating Chinese proverbs in particular. As for 

the translator’s intentionality and selectivity, Eileen Chang often uses provincial translation, giving 



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equal importance to the two purposes of cultural transmission and readers’ understanding, and often 

uses annotations to explain culturally loaded words and rhetorical terms; Lovell is characterized by 

faithfulness to the original text and follows the translation strategy of “faithful re-creation”, which aims 

more at readers’ understanding than cultural transmission. In terms of translator’s manipulation and 

resistance, both of them use more domestication and submit to the reader’s understanding, and Chang 

often combines domestication and foreignisation, thus preserving the Chinese cultural characteristics of 

the original text while ensuring the reader’s understanding; Lovell takes the strategy of foreignisation 

and only adds appropriate amount to show the exoticism and attract the reader’s interest. It is expected 

that such a comparative interpretation of the translation can offer a glimpse into the related studies of 

overseas Chinese contemporary literary translation, especially into the issue of how translators’ 

subjectivity influences the quality of translation. It also offers a new perspective on BTI and MTI 

instruction of teachers for communicating Chinese culture into the world through translation. 

 

References 

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Ji, Z. D. (2021). A study of English Sinologist Julia Lovell’s translation views. Modern English, 22, 

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Liu, J. D., & X. D. (2011). The Translator’s Cultural Consciousness and the Choice of Translation 

Strategy—An Analysis of the English version of the Golden Cangue by Eileen Chang. Journal of 

Xi’an International Studies University, 19(04), 95-98. 

Liu, J. P. (2008). The four dimensions of translator subjectivity and their characteristics from an 

interdisciplinary perspective. Foreign Language and Their Teaching, 8, 52-55. 

Newmark, P. (2001). A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education 

Press. 

Qin, J. H. (2010). British Sinologist Julia Lovell’s Ideas on Translation. Journal of Changsha 

University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), 25(05), 117-121. 

Tan, Y. F. (2015). Translator Subjectivity in the Perspective of the Principle of Intentionality. Heihe 

Journal, Serial(12), 23-24. 

Wang, X. Y. (2009). Eileen Chang’s Chinese-English Translation: A Post-colonial Perspective. Foreign 

Language and Literature, 25(02), 125-129. 

Xie, T. Z. (1999). Medio-translatology (pp. 146-156). ShanghaiEducationalPublishing House. 

Zhang, A. L. (1997). A Look At Eileen Chang (pp. 255-259). Guangzhou Huacheng Press. 

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Note(s) 

Note 1. This paper is the periodical outcome of Project on “A Study of the Geographical Writing and 

Overseas Introduction and Translation of ‘Northeast Writers Group’ from the Perspective of 

Nationalities and Regions”;of Project on “A Study of English Major Course System Construction with 

Value Shaping Based on ‘Global Village’ as the Foreign Language Lab” supported by Foreign 

Language Teaching and Research Coucil China Association of Higher Education(No: 21WYJYZD08); 

of Project on “A Study of Routes Applied to Cultivate the Inter-cultural Competence of English Major 

Students” (No: GJJX20201130); of Project on “The Establishment and Practice of Vista Mode of 

Development and Transformation of English-major Teaching Faculty’s Proficiency under New Arts 

Prospect” sponsored by Chinese Private Higher Education Association(CANFZG22417); of Project on 

“The Construction and Practice of Mode of Development and Transformation of Foreign Language 

Teaching Faculty’s Proficiency in International Studies of Universities under Multiple-Discipline 

Background” sponsored by Jilin Higher Education Association (No: JGJX2022D316) of Project on 

“The Introduction and Translation of Chinese Contemporary Literature and Culture”sponsored by Jilin 

International Studies University in 2022. 


