1.3 Methodology and Structure of the Study 2

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Cultural Identity 3

2.1.1 Studies on Cultural Identity in the West 3

2.1.2 Studies on Cultural Identity in China 4

2.2 Previous Research on Howard Goldblatt 4

3. Translator’s Cultural Identity 6

3.1 Cultural Identity 6

3.1.1 Definition of Cultural Identity 6

3.1.2 Translator’s Cultural Identity 6

4. Howard Goldblatt’s Cultural Identity Reflected in Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh 9

4.1 Translation of Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh 9

4.1.1 An Introduction to Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh 9

4.1.2 A Brief Introduction to Mo Yan 9

4.2 Exploration of Howard Goldblatt’s Cultural Identity in Shifu, You’ll Do Anything for a Laugh 10

4.2.1 National Identity 10

4.2.2 Education Background 12

5. Conclusion 14

Bibliography 16

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

With the advance of globalization, the exchange of information in the fields of culture, politics, science and technology has promoted. Translation is playing a more vital role than ever in history. More and more scholars started to do the translation research, which lead to the development in translation history ever since. New modern theories not only give a favor to translators to do his/her translation well but also give translators the workable and practical criterion to judge the work he/she has done. These new modern theories, such as Skopos Theory, Manipulation Theory, and Functional Translation Theory, help the translators to do his/her translation well and also provide translators the workable criterion, which can judge the work he/she has done.

According to Stuart Hall, Cultural identity refers to those aspects of our identities which arise from our "belonging" to distinctive ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious and above all, national cultures (1992: 274). The study of cultural identity began in the 1980s, which is also a period when "cultural turn" took place in translation study. The issue of cultural identity, accompanied by the translator's subjectivity, becomes the hot topic for scholars, both of which are related to the concept of "cultural turn". At the end of the 20th century, Zhang Yuhe(张裕禾)，a Chinese-Canadian sociologist, introduced the concept of cultural identity into China, exerting great effects on contemporary Chinese literary and cultural studies. "With the introduction of cultural turn in translation studies, the scope of translation studies has become `both broader and deeper'."(Bassnett 2004: 124), which means that language, history and culture should be consistent in the translation process. The translation study and cultural study should be closely intertwined.