[[alternative]]Chinese Translations of Jules Verne’s Science Fiction:A Case Study on Journey to the Center of the Earth

[[abstract]]In the year 1900, Jules Verne’s Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in 80 Days) was introduced into the Chinese literary polysystem for the first time. In the following two decades, Liang Qi-chao and the literary men of his times initiated “the Revolution of Novels.” Translation of Science Fiction became trendy. Jules Verne’s other science fiction, such as Voyage au centre de la terre（A Journey to the Center of the Earth）, Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers（Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas）, and De la terre ? la lune trajet en 97 heures et 20 minutes（From the Earth to the Moon）, etc. were translated into Chinese one after another. Ever since, the translation activities of Jules Verne’s works continued until the present day, although, during the May Fourth Movement, there was a stop due to the new elite’s change of literary tastes. Jules Verne’s works are still rendered today, mostly due to his reputation as “the Father of Science Fiction.” If we look back upon the entire translation process of his works spanning over one hundred years, we will find that his stature in the Chinese polysystem does not remain still. In every period, different social and historical factors affect the translators and the translations. In Late Qing period, the translated literature was on the edge of the Chinese literary polysystem. Meanwhile, the political agendas were guiding translators to focus on educational values of Science Fiction. That is, using them as a tool to educate the ignorant public. As a result, most translation products were not adequate. For instance, Lu Xun applied three norms in translating Voyage au centre de la terre: (1) Fitting the foreign text into the framework of traditional novels (2) Serving the political aganda (3) Omitting or simplifying science. And these norms were also shown in the other Jules Verne’s Science-Fiction renditions in that time. When the May Fourth Movement started, the new elite were no longer interested in the translation of popular novels. Moreover, the development of real science led the scientists to ignore the popularity of science. As a representative of science fiction and popular novels, Jules Verne’s novels were forgotten in the ensuing thirty years. After 1949, translation of Jules Verne’s science fiction gradually revived in Taiwan. But during this period, both publishers and translators viewed him as an writer of children’s literature. When the job of translation was undertaken, translators were dominated by norms governing translation of children's literature. Hence, most of the Chinese translations were not adequate. Another characteristic featuring the translating activities was the limited choices. Novels translated in this time were all re-translations of the late-Qing period. And like late-Qing period, the source of translation was not original. The difference was that late-Qing translators translated from Japanese, while modern counterparts translated from English. Chinese translations of Voyage au centre de la terre after 1949 shared some common features: (1) Serving the educational purposes (2) Adjusting to the comprehension ability of young readers (3) Restoring the lost science elements. Since translators now viewed his works as children’s literature, they modified the translated texts according to the two norms proposed by Zohar Shavit: translation of children's literatrue should be (1) educationally good for the child (2) adjusting to the child’s ability to read and comprehend. As to the science descriptions deleted by the late-Qing translators, most were retained. But due to the influence of the above two norms, some science-based paragraphs were still deleted or abridged. Seen diachronically, there are some common problems regarding Jules Verne’s translations. First, few translators chose to translate from French. Because of this, the Chinese translation of his name never sticks to one version. This, in turn, leads to his low celebrity among Chinese readers. Second, only some of Jules Verne’ sixty-odd novels are translated into Chinese. In Taiwan, these translations consist mostly of science fiction. If we compare this phenomenon with that of the English worlds, we would find that our understanding of Jules Verne is far from complete. Most important of all, even though all translators and publishers call him “Father of Science Fiction”, but they never let him fulfill his reputation. That is, since late-Qing, owing to various social and historical influences, some of his proud scientific endeavors have never revealed themselves.