From Lotus to Plum: A Critical Comparison Between Two English-language Translators of Jin Ping Mei

Generally recognized as one of the four masterworks of Ming fiction, Jin Ping Mei 金瓶梅 (1617) is one of the earliest premodern Chinese vernacular texts introduced to Anglophone audiences through translation. Several  different English translations are currently in circulation but have received inadequate academic attention. This thesis contributes to scholarship on the English translations of Jin Ping Mei by investigating and comparing its two full-length English renderings, Clement Egerton’s The Golden Lotus (1939) and David Tod Roy’s The Plum in the Golden Vase (1993-2013), both of which are relatively underexplored in the sphere of translation studies. Its primary purpose is to demonstrate that the two translations differ significantly in representing several of the most characteristic aspects of the novel. The underlying hypothesis is that both translations are shaped in fundamental ways by their responses to their respective sociocultural milieux. To test this, the study establishes four textual corpora for critical analysis, variously covering linguistic, cultural, literary, and societal dimensions of the source text. Through analysis of textual samples, it aims to describe the two translators’ choices and strategies to deduce factors that may have influenced them. It also explores the effect of their different approaches on the target readers’ perceptions of the novel. The arguments are supported by previously unstudied material from the translators’ archives. The theoretical framework is based on descriptive translation studies, which highlights both text and context, but it also incorporates insights from linguistics, literary studies, and cultural studies. The analytical method is both quantitative and qualitative. Ultimately the study offers a deeper understanding of the complex issues faced by  native English translators of premodern Chinese texts.