Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi

Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) is one of the unusual tales in the anthology Liaozhai Zhiyi by Chinese novelist Pu Songling. The characterization of Fourteenth Daughter Xin, crafted to portray both the character development of the memorable female protagonist and the story’s structure, con...

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Main Authors: Yi, Shuihan, Ng, Chwee Fang, Abdul Halim, Hazlina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy Publication 2025
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/1/120612.pdf
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author Yi, Shuihan
Ng, Chwee Fang
Abdul Halim, Hazlina
author_facet Yi, Shuihan
Ng, Chwee Fang
Abdul Halim, Hazlina
author_sort Yi, Shuihan
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) is one of the unusual tales in the anthology Liaozhai Zhiyi by Chinese novelist Pu Songling. The characterization of Fourteenth Daughter Xin, crafted to portray both the character development of the memorable female protagonist and the story’s structure, contains numerous Chinese literary and cultural elements that present challenges in English translation. This study, based on a systematic examination of the original Liaozhai Zhiyi and its complete English version, aims to investigate how the translator reconstructs Fourteenth Daughter Xin’s character image in English renderings. Through analysis of Fourteenth Daughter Xin’s appellation, appearance, speech, and action, the findings reveal that the translator enhances emotional descriptions, emphasizes the elegance and beauty of Fourteenth Daughter Xin, and simplifies some action descriptions through omissions and adaptations. It can be observed that the translator tends to preserve cultural nuances closely while effectively conveying the overall characterization of Fourteenth Daughter Xin. This research aspires to serve as a reference for the English translation of literary fictional characters, facilitating the international dissemination of ancient Chinese literature.
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spelling upm-1206122025-10-07T00:41:35Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/ Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi Yi, Shuihan Ng, Chwee Fang Abdul Halim, Hazlina Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) is one of the unusual tales in the anthology Liaozhai Zhiyi by Chinese novelist Pu Songling. The characterization of Fourteenth Daughter Xin, crafted to portray both the character development of the memorable female protagonist and the story’s structure, contains numerous Chinese literary and cultural elements that present challenges in English translation. This study, based on a systematic examination of the original Liaozhai Zhiyi and its complete English version, aims to investigate how the translator reconstructs Fourteenth Daughter Xin’s character image in English renderings. Through analysis of Fourteenth Daughter Xin’s appellation, appearance, speech, and action, the findings reveal that the translator enhances emotional descriptions, emphasizes the elegance and beauty of Fourteenth Daughter Xin, and simplifies some action descriptions through omissions and adaptations. It can be observed that the translator tends to preserve cultural nuances closely while effectively conveying the overall characterization of Fourteenth Daughter Xin. This research aspires to serve as a reference for the English translation of literary fictional characters, facilitating the international dissemination of ancient Chinese literature. Academy Publication 2025 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/1/120612.pdf Yi, Shuihan and Ng, Chwee Fang and Abdul Halim, Hazlina (2025) Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 16 (4). pp. 1204-1212. ISSN 1798-4769; eISSN: 2053-0684 https://jltr.academypublication.com/index.php/jltr/article/view/10475 10.17507/jltr.1604.15
spellingShingle Yi, Shuihan
Ng, Chwee Fang
Abdul Halim, Hazlina
Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title_full Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title_fullStr Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title_full_unstemmed Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title_short Reconstructing the fictional character of Fourteenth Daughter Xin (Xin Shisi Niang) in the English Translation of Liaozhai Zhiyi
title_sort reconstructing the fictional character of fourteenth daughter xin (xin shisi niang) in the english translation of liaozhai zhiyi
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120612/1/120612.pdf