Communication, Society and Media ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm 1 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 2 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 javascript:; www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 3 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 4 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 javascript:; www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 5 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 6 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 7 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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, javascript:; www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 8 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 9 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 10 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 11 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 12 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; javascript:; www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 13 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 14 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 15 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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 Dong, X. P. (n.d.). Eileen Chang’s Novels and Psychological Realism Writing. Jilin University. Ji, Z. D. (2021). A study of English Sinologist Julia Lovell’s translation views. Modern English, 22, 49-51, 95. 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. Zhou，F. L. (2007). Sorrow and Injury: A Biography of Eileen Chang(99). Shanghai Far East Publishers. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/csm Communication, Society and Media Vol. 5, No. 3, 2022 16 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 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.