Fantasy in Translation: A Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Lord of the Rings

As a great fantasy work, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings enjoys unprecedented popularity in China. However, translating the trilogy into Chinese is far from an easy job. By comparing two Chinese versions of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, this paper analyzes the problems and solutions in translating English fantasy literature into Chinese. It is indicated that the translation of fantasy literature is a complicated process regarding the style, the readership, and the culture background, etc. As fantasy is one of the most important criteria in evaluating the translation of fantasy literature, the key issue lies in how to reproduce the fantasy in the target text as much as possible and make the translated version readable and acceptable as well. Key words: Tolkien; The Lord of the Rings; Fantasy Literature; TranslationResumé: En tant qu'une grande œuvre de fantaisie, Le Seigneur des Anneaux de Tolkien jouit d'une popularité sans précédente en Chine. Cependant, la traduction en chinois de la trilogie est loin d'être une tâche facile. En comparant les deux versions chinoises du Seigneur des Anneaux de Tolkien, cet article analyse les problèmes et les solutions dans la traduction de la littérature fantastique anglaise vers le chinois. Il est indiqué que la traduction de la littérature fantastique est un processus complexe en ce qui concerne le style, la lecture, et l'arrière-plan culturel, etc. Comme la fantaisie est l'un des critères les plus importants dans l'évaluation de la traduction de la littérature fantastique, la question clé réside dans la façon de reproduire autant que possible le fantasme dans le texte cible et ainsi de faire la version traduite lisible et acceptable.Mots-clés: Tolkien; Seigneur des Anneaux; littérature fantastique; traductio

On the Role of Translation in the Reconfiguration of Chinese Literary Field in the May Fourth Era

The May Fourth era was a vigorous period in translation theory and practice in China, as well as a crucial period for the formation of Chinese discourse of modernity. Taking some of Bourdieu’s concepts as a starting point, this paper attempts to study the key role of translation in the reconfiguration of Chinese literary field during the May Fourth era. Modern Chinese intellectuals relied on translation for articulation of their cultural enlightenment project, and derived much of their cultural power from their translation of Western works at that time. It is indicated that translation in the May Fourth era, far from being considered a secondary, marginal activity, constituted one of the important elements participating in the struggle for cultural legitimation and supremacy, and provided easy access to “cultural capital” and “symbolic power” for modern Chinese intellectuals in the Chinese discourse of modernity during the early twentieth century. Key words: translation; modernity; literary field; cultural capital; symbolic power; May Fourth era Résumé: La période du 4 mai a été non seulement une période vigoureuse des théories et des pratiques de traduction en Chine, mais aussi une période cruciale pour la formation du discours chinois de la moderne. En empruntant certains concepts de Bourdieu comme le point de départ, ce document tente d'étudier le rôle clé de la traduction dans la reconfiguration du champ littéraire chinois au cours de la période du 4 mai. A cette époque, les intellectuels chinois modernes se sont appuyés sur la traduction pour former leur projet culturel, et ils ont obtenu une grande partie de leur puissance culturelle de la traduction des œuvres occidentales. Il est indiqué que la traduction de la période du 4 mai, loin d'être considérée comme une activité secondaire et marginale, constituait l'un des éléments importants dans la lutte pour la légitimation et la suprématie culturelles, et qu'elle a facilité l'accès au «capital culturel» et au «pouvoir symbolique» pour les intellectuels chinois modernes dans le discours chinois de la modernité au cours du début du XXe siècle.Mots-clés: traduction; modernité; champ littéraire, capital culturel, pouvoir symbolique; période du 4 ma

Methods and compositions for enhanced resistance to abiotic stress in plants

The present invention provides transgenic plants having increased tolerance to abiotic stress comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule, said recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding miR319 operatively associated with a promoter, a nucleotide sequence that is antisense to a portion of consecutive nucleotides of a nucleotide sequence encoding PCF5, and/or a nucleotide sequence that encodes a portion of consecutive nucleotides of a nucleotide sequence encoding PCF5, which when expressed produces an antisense nucleotide sequence, wherein expression of the nucleotide sequence confers increased tolerance to abiotic stress. Also provided are methods and compositions for making said transgenic plants

Excess Extracellular K\u3csup\u3e+\u3c/sup\u3e Causes Inner Hair Cell Ribbon Synapse Degeneration

Inner hair cell (IHC) ribbon synapses are the first synapse in the auditory system and can be degenerated by noise and aging, thereby leading to hidden hearing loss (HHL) and other hearing disorders. However, the mechanism underlying this cochlear synaptopathy remains unclear. Here, we report that elevation of extracellular K+, which is a consequence of noise exposure, could cause IHC ribbon synapse degeneration and swelling. Like intensity dependence in noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy, the K+-induced degeneration was dose-dependent, and could be attenuated by BK channel blockers. However, application of glutamate receptor (GluR) agonists caused ribbon swelling but not degeneration. In addition, consistent with synaptopathy in HHL, both K+ and noise exposure only caused IHC but not outer hair cell ribbon synapse degeneration. These data reveal that K+ excitotoxicity can degenerate IHC ribbon synapses in HHL, and suggest that BK channel may be a potential target for prevention and treatment of HHL