A Study on the English Translation of “Taipei People” from the Perspective of Adaptation Theory

Abstract

The collection of short stories, Taipei People, is one of the representative works of the famous writer Pai Hsien-yung. In this book, Pai portrays characters from different regions and fields vividly, displaying a contrast between the past and the present. The stories in this book are rich in Chinese culture and customs, which is concerned in this paper. This paper compares and analyzes the English translation of Taipei People from four aspects from the perspective of the adaptation theory, namely, contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability, salience of the adaptation processes. It is found that the translators consider the differences in language, culture and social environment between China and western countries, and make translation choices of different degrees of salience of adaptation. They adopt different translation strategies to dynamically adapt to the original book and target readers, make flexible choices according to different contexts, which show the salience and purpose of translators in the translation process. In view of the literary value of Taipei people, this paper hopes to provide some reference for more translators to translate and disseminate Chinese literature.