ON CULTURAL LOSSES IN THE RECEPTIVE PROCESS OF THE CHINESE TRANSLATION OF YU.M. POLYAKOV’S NOVEL I PLANNED AN ESCAPE

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of cultural losses in the receptive process of Yu. M. Polyakov’s novel I Planned an Escape. Cultural differences and language barriers complicate translator’s work. Although there are many key cultural losses in the receptive process of the Chinese translation of the novel, the translation was generally successful. The reason for the success is the topical relevance, since great works of literature touch on issues that concern all of humanity, issues that know no boundaries. Secondly, the translator’s skill in preserving the idiosyncrasies of the original author while referring the reader to parallels in his native culture, as brilliantly demonstrated by Zhang Jianhua’s translation, can convey the hidden cultural meanings of a foreign-language work of fiction to the masses as much as possible. Thirdly, the Chinese reader, probably, is close to the type of hero who aspires to a happy and wealthy life, who manages to realize his desires, but never becomes truly happy. Everyone, even for a minute, if not for several minutes, has been or is becoming an Escapist.