This book intends to make a systematic and thorough study of the English translation and dissemination of SGYY against the historical and social context in which various versions were produced and perused. Through a close examination of the renderings and the relevant agents who have actively participated in the creation, publication and reading of them, the reasearch aims to reveal the historical and social values of the translations in different ages.

Contents _x000D_

Foreword Ⅰ _x000D_

Acknowledgements Ⅴ _x000D_

_x000D_

Preface _x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter One Introduction 1 _x000D_

1.1 Purpose of the book 5 _x000D_

1.2 Scope of the study of translation history 9 _x000D_

1.3 Structure of the book 13 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter Two The Translation and Review of SGYY in English 15 _x000D_

2.1 A brief introduction to the Chinese novel SGYY 15 _x000D_

2.2 Sinologists’ comments on the popularity of SGYY 18 _x000D_

2.3 The translation history of SGYY into English 20 _x000D_

2.3.1 Data collection 20 _x000D_

2.3.2 A brief introduction to the English translations 21 _x000D_

2.3.3 Periodization of the history 37 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

2.4 The review history of SGYY in the English language 39 _x000D_

2.4.1 Data collection 40 _x000D_

2.4.2 A brief introduction to the English reviews 40 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter Three　_x0007_ The Early Period (1820–1924): Expatriates’ Endeavors 51 _x000D_

3.1 Other identities of translators 56 _x000D_

3.1.1 Identities of foreigners in China during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries 56 _x000D_

3.1.2 Identities and perspectives of translators 57 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

3.2 Translation purpose and translation object 63 _x000D_

3.2.1 Influence of Chinese culture on the choice of the translator 65 _x000D_

3.2.2 Sinologists’ views on the novel as a literary form 66 _x000D_

3.2.3 Translation as leisure-time reading material 69 _x000D_

3.2.4 Translation as language learning material 72 _x000D_

3.2.5 Translation as research 75 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

3.3 Translation strategies 77 _x000D_

3.3.1 Translation strategies 77 _x000D_

3.3.2 Reasons for the translation strategies adopted 80 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

3.4 The journal as a unique outlet for translations and reviews 84 _x000D_

3.5_x0007_ Conclusion 89 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter Four_x0007__x0007_The Middle Period (1925–1975): An Age of Diversity 91 _x000D_

4.1 Three translations of the same episode 94 _x000D_

4.1.1 Z. Q. Parker’s translation 94 _x000D_

4.1.2 Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang’s translation 95 _x000D_

4.1.3 Cheung Yik-man’s translation 98 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

4.2 Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor and his Romance of the Three Kingdoms 100 _x000D_

4.2.1 Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor 100 _x000D_

4.2.2 The reason why Brewitt-Taylor undertook the translation 101 _x000D_

4.2.3 Target reader 107 _x000D_

4.2.4 Translation strategies 111 _x000D_

4.2.5 Publisher’s role in the formation of the translation 119 _x000D_

4.2.6 Mistranslations 122 _x000D_

4.2.7 Reception of the translation by Brewitt-Taylor’s

contemporaries 131

_x000D_

4.2.8 Influence of Brewitt-Taylor’s translation 133 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

4.3 Conclusion 137 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter Five_x0007__x0007_The Late Period (1976–　): The Academic Turn 139 _x000D_

5.1 Translation purpose and target audience 141 _x000D_

5.2 Production under ideal circumstances 142 _x000D_

5.3 The academic turn and the translator’s subjectivity 143 _x000D_

5.3.1 The translator as a scholar 144 _x000D_

5.3.2 The translator’s subjectivity and translation strategies 148 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

5.4 Patronage 158 _x000D_

5.5 Reception of Roberts’s translations 159 _x000D_

5.5.1 The 1976 edition 159 _x000D_

5.5.2 The 1991 edition 161 _x000D_

5.5.3 The 1999 edition 164 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

5.6 Mistranslations in Moss Roberts’s versions 164 _x000D_

5.7 Conclusion 166 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Chapter Six　Conclusion 169 _x000D_

6.1 Historical tendencies of the English translation of

SGYY 171

_x000D_

6.1.1 Transformation of the subject of translation activities 171 _x000D_

6.1.2 Transformation of the translation purpose and readership 172 _x000D_

6.1.3 Transformation of the translator’s cultural orientation 173 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

6.2 Retranslation and its causality 175 _x000D_

_x000D_

_x000D_

Bibliography 179 Appendices 193 _x000D_

Appendix A: A Catalogue of English Translations of SGYY (in chronological order) 193 _x000D_

Appendix B: A Catalogue of English Reviews of SGYY (in chronological order) 196 _x000D_

Appendix C: An Interview with Professor Moss Roberts 198 _x000D_

List of Tables 201