Re-Evaluation of Lin Shu (the Chinese Translator) - National ...

154 Re-Evaluation of Lin Shu (the Chinese Translator):A Systemic Approach to Literary Translationperiod, the focus of translation in China shifted from sciencetranslation to fictional translation owing to the social function offiction.Ideology and Lin Shu's TranslationsIdeology prevalent at the turn of the twentieth century, to alarge extent, influences Lin Shu’s choice of text for translation aswell as the translating method adopted by Lin Shu. Furthermore,traditional Chinese ideology also has an impact on Lin Shu’smanipulation on the original.A. Ideology and Lin Shu’s Choice of Text for TranslationIdeology plays a part in the decision-making and behavior ofan individual or a group. The mainstream ideology in early modernChina greatly influenced translators in that period, first in what totranslate. This part mainly investigates the effect of ideology ontranslators’ choice of text for translation.It’s well acknowledged that translation career in earlymodern China (about 1930) started with translation of Westernscience and technology as a by-product of WesternizationMovement. Round about the Hundred Day’s Reform, reformists castmuch attention on translation of Western thinking and literature. Inaccompany with political reform, they launched “LiteraryRevolution”, among which “Fictional Revolution” played the majorpart. Fiction was chosen to be a tool of social reform for its socialfunction instead of its literary or aesthetic values. Fictionaltranslation was first seen as a tool to arouse the populace’spatriotism and to enlighten the masses.Lin Shu’s whole life was spent in a society with weaknational strength. Reforms and enlightenment are the mainstream