On fidelity and historicity : a reconsideration of the representation of Wu Zetian in Chinese historical fiction

Abstract

The foundation of the present study lies in the conceptual links between translation studies and adaptation studies, in particular, it focuses on the analogical comparables between the concepts of “fidelity” in translation and “adaptation” and “appropriation” in adaptation studies. By drawing upon this implication of such notions in the two fields, my aim is to examine the theoretical similarities between translation and the writing of historical fiction, with the latter being read as an act of adapting historical personages in writings. By drawing from theories from translation studies as well as adaptation studies, attempts will be made to investigate the applicability of this concept of “fidelity,” along with its extended meaning of authenticity or accuracy, into textual analyses of Chinese historical fiction.

To experiment and demonstrate this applicability more specifically, the only female emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian 武則天 (624-705) of the Tang dynasty is chosen as the thematic historical personage of this case study. Two fictional works (Ruyijun zhuan 如意君傳 and Jinghua yuan 鏡花緣) from the Ming-Qing period and three from the late 20th Century concerning Wu Zetian (of Gei Fei 格非, Su Tong 童蘇 and Zhao Mei 趙玫) are brought under textual analysis. Paralleling translation with the writing of historical fiction, these writers are treated as translators who translate the historical Wu Zetian into a representation appearing in their work.

By examining these fictional texts with an experimental theoretical framework, this study is expected to give insights on how this historical figure is used to convey ideologies, personally or culturally, in different eras through the lens of the authors. In the end, the thesis aims to draw a parallel between the writing of historical fiction and translation, and to shed new light on the process of historical fiction writing as an act of reinterpretation.