Positive cultural images built in translation: a case study of Lin Yutang’s A Nun of Taishan

Abstract

Lin Yutang is a pioneer in the spreading of Chinese culture overseas. Since the 1930s, he has been introducing Chinese literature and culture to the world. Lin Yutang’s English translation of A Nun of Taishan derives from his balance of subjective and objective factors in source text selection, reflecting the spiritual fit between the storyline and Lin’s spiritual philosophy, his views on women, and the consistency toward the realistic needs at home and abroad. Based on the above translation motivations, Lin gives full play to the translator’s subjective initiatives, skillfully blending the strategies of domestication and alienation, and adopting flexible and diverse translation techniques, such as the translator’s “preconceived preface” and “integration of translation and writing,” which present the readers in the English-speaking world with a new, wise and independent image of Chinese women and a broad and inclusive image of Chinese philosophy.