On the Application of Trans-Rewriting in Julia Lovell’s English Translation of Xi You Ji and the Significance of Trans-Rewriting for Translating Traditional Chinese Classics

Trans-rewriting is a strategy significant for translating traditional Chinese classics.Monkey King: Journey to the West, as one of the abridged English translations of Xi You Ji, recounted the essential part of the original story to the audience within limited space.A close reading and analysis of the source and target texts reveal that by adopting trans-rewriting as the translation strategy, Julia Lovell, the translator, turned into prose much of the verse in the original work, recreated a sense of humor that is lost during interlingual translation and reduced the disparity between Eastern and Western culture in her translation.As a result, she has directly intervened into the reconstruction of Xi You Ji and produced Monkey King: Journey to the West, a reworking that targets the readers in the English-speaking world, among whom it is widely appreciated.