Abstract:
A-Q Zheng Zhuan or The True Story of A-Q is a literary work of Lu Xun (1881-1936 A.D.) who is a popular thinker and writer of China. A-Q Zheng Zhuan is considered to be one of the popular works ever published by Lu Xun. It has been translated into many different languages including Thai. This thesis serves two main purposes. First, the thesis functions to compare the literary version of A-Q Zheng Zhuan, which is the orginal text of Lu Xun and those of the six translated versions, in order to seek differences and distortions. Second, the thesis analyses reasons behind those differences. The study finds that there are four main differences which can be found when compared with the original text. These are namely, (1) distortions of meanings of words, (2) differences in the use of nouns and pronouns, (3) differences in currency, weight scale, and distance scale, and (4) differences in culture and idiomatic expressions. The study, in addition, analyses the reasons behind these differences which are believed to have been derived from two main sources. First, the translated works are believed to be from both the original text in Chinese and the already translated English version. Second, the mentioned differences are originated from the translator themselves. That is, the translators tried to simplify the work in order to make the work looks more simple, so readers can enjoy more literary flavors. The study, moreover, finds that the translators have limited abstruse understanding of the Chinese society, leading to works consisted of differences.