The Translator’s Dilemma: Howard Goldblatt’s Translation Strategies in “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out”

Abstract

Since the 21st century, under the backdrop of the “going global” strategy of Chinese culture, the international influence of Chinese literary works has been growing. Among them, Howard Goldblatt’s translation of “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out” is an outstanding representative of the English translation of contemporary Chinese literature. The translator Howard Goldblatt’s masterful translation of the original work’s national culture, linguistic form, and special structure is key to the success of the translation in overseas markets. This paper studies specific translation examples from Goldblatt’s English version of “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out” and analyzes the translator’s translation strategies from the perspective of Polysystem Theory. It also explores the reasons from several angles, including the translating subject, content, strategy, and sponsors. The study finds that the translator Howard Goldblatt has seized the opportunity of Chinese culture “going global” and skillfully combined domestication and foreignization in the translation process of “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out” effectively conveying Chinese cultural elements to readers while considering their reading interests and cultural backgrounds, thus making the translation more appealing to target language readers and promoting its effective overseas dissemination.