Interpretation and Instruction of  Wolf Totem Based on Literary Geography

Interpretation and Instruction of Wolf Totem Based on Literary Geography

Ke,Xixiang,,,Wan,Yilan

Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China 430200

Abstract: This research intends to study the original and translated version of Wolf Totem from the perspective of literary geography, analyze the interaction and mutual influence between geography and literature, and analyze the complementary relationship between geography and literature, thusproviding some reference for the translation and teaching of Chinese literature.The literary work can be instructed and interpreted from multidisciplinary perspective.

Keywords: Literary Geography, Translation, Wolf Totem, Instruction

Introduction

Wolf Totem is a novel with wolf as the main narrative created by writer Jiang Rong. It was drafted in the Ujumuqin Grassland in East Ximeng, Inner Mongolia since 1971. The first draft was completed in Beijing in 1997, and the final draft was finalized in Beijing in 2003, was published in the April of 2004. After the book was published in China, it was translated into 30 languages and distributed in 110 countries and regions around the world. It tells the story of an educated youth who was interdependent with prairie wolves and nomads when he was sent to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in the 1960s and 1970s. It has been among the top ten best-selling literary books for 6 consecutive years and has won dozens of awards. There are thousands of research papers and works on "Wolf Totem" in newspapers and online new media at home and abroad.

Literary geography is proposed as a perspective and method of literary history research. It mainly discusses the influence of geographical factors on literary thoughts, literary schools, author creation, translator creation, style of work and reader acceptance, and draws or reproduces a literary map of an era or place[1]. The novel Wolf Totem is not much researched from the perspective of literary geography. This research intends to study the original and translated version of

Wolf Totem from the perspective of literary geography, analyze the interaction and mutual influence between geographical factors and literature via interpreting the complementary relationship between geography and literature for the purpose of providing some reference for foreign translation of Chinese literature.

1. Geographic Analysis of the Original

1.1 Geographic Analysis on the Author

Jiang Rong was born in the northern Jiangsu base in 1946. His father Lv Bingkui was an old revolution in the New Fourth Army during the Anti-Japanese War. His mother is an intellectual and was injured on the battlefield due to participation in the revolution. Jiang Rong was born in a family of cadres. He received professional painting training in his youth and was deeply influenced by Russian literature, movies and oil paintings. He experienced the Cultural Revolution in his youth and is concerned about national events and political movements. His maverick personality has caused him many setbacks, thus forging his strong creative style, grand narrative, rich details, and multi-intentioned themes. As a result, his work has an anthropogenic meaning that transcends regional culture and national beliefs.

Geographical background of the novel writing is as follows. [2]The author responded to the call of the central government in 1967 and came to the East Ujumqin Banner of Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia, China, experiencing the conflict between culture and nomadicculture,and witnessing the natural features of the primitive grassland, and the destruction of the grassland and the destruction of the entire nomadic civilization. Out of love and nostalgia for the grassland, the author created a semi-autobiographical novel Wolf Totem based on his own experience.

Jiang Rong danced with wolves on the grassland for eleven years. He has dug out wolf dens, raised little wolves, and witnessed countless battles between wolves and yellow sheep, wolves and men, wolves and horses. It was the quality of the wolf and the totem worship of the prairie people, as well as the mystery of the Mongolian cavalry battle in the 13th century, that made Jiang Rong addicted to it for 30 years, and finally spent almost 6 years writing the novel

Wolf Totem . The unique experience and obsessive thinking make the story of the work, especially the details of the wolf, present a colorful, accurate and powerful charm.

1.2 Natural Geographic Space

In the original, there are many descriptions on grassland, blue sky and swan, a beauty which lay a foundation for the theme of this novel. Ecological system should be protected and measures should be taken to save the beauty of nature.

1.3 Human Geographic Space

Depictions of human geographic space appear frequently in the original. Herdsmen, dog, snow, mountain etc. form a very fascinating scene and a peaceful and prosperous picture.

1.4 ImaginativeGeographic Space

The “Swan Grassland” in the novel is almost a microcosm of the primitive living environment of the herdsmen in the Elun Grassland. In this self-sufficient and beautiful space, the herdsmen have such a beautiful daily life and happy vision. The landscape here is almost a native imagination of the people on the grasslands, where nature and man are oneness, quiet and daily life. We know that such autopian landscape and native homeland has been destroyed by outsiders like Bao Shungui. The Swan Lake has been transformed into a medicinal bath and the swans are treated as delicacies. This natural landscape has a certain elegy meaning. Wolf novels generally have a rich and precarious natural environment as a narrative space, such as the Elun grassland in Wolf Totem. The popularity of wolf novels firstly shows the public’s universal ecological anxiety and consciousness of ecological concepts. The creation of wolf novels has become common practice, which is related to the reduction and disappearance of wolves in the ecological sense, and the people’s recollection of the original rich and tense natural relationship. Literature recalling wolves has become a relief to people’s ecological crisis, recalling biological species and their representatives. The aesthetic presentation of animal ethics is very imaginative.

It shows that in the age of industrial civilization, people have a certain influence on the geographical space, the relationship between man and nature, the way of living, and the cultural totem of the pre-industrial age that are fading away or even disappear.

It is an elegy-style memorial and sigh. The decline and disappearance of the animal world has made humans far away from nature, and gradually lost their natural counterparts and contrasts. Therefore, humans not only feel the existence of wolves in their consciousness and subconsciousness, but also constantly feel through memories, imagination, fiction and feeling.

2. Geographical Analysis of Translated Version

2.1 Geographic Analysis on the Translator

Howard Goldblattwas born in Southern California, United States. With poor schooling, he was sent to serve army in Taiwan and Vietnam. The experience in Vietnam made him understand that life cannot be wasted. Accordingly, he develops interest in Chinese and devotes himself into learning Chinese in China and later translated Wolf Totem.

2.2 ThickTranslation of Natural Geographical Environment

This is really a swan grassland. If there were no Bao Shungui, no educated youth, and no foreign households, the herdsmen of Elun would definitely be able to live peacefully with the white swans. Shepherding sheep under the blue sky with swans flying is so romantic. There may not even be white swans in the Garden of Eden. In a few years, it will be enough to marry a Mongolian girl who dares to catch a live wolf's tail, and to have a few Mongolian and Chinese mixed blood who dare to drill wolf holes[3].

The Olonbulag is located southwest of the Great Xing’an mountain range, directly north of Beijing; it shares a border with Outer Mongolia. Historically, it was the southern passage between Manchuria and the Mongolian steppes, and, as such, the site of battles between a host of peoples and nomadic tribes, as well as a territory in which the potential struggles for dominance by nomads and farmers was everpresent.

This translation offers a lot of explanation of The Olonbulag for the convenience of readers. Learning about the geographical location helps readers to understand the plots and theme of the work.

2.3 Flexible Translation of HumanGeographical

Environment

Examples are as follows. The following translation instead of hard translation is very flexible, containing rhetorical devices such as simile, which are used to arouse readers’ curiosity and interest.The language of translation is made vivid because of translator’s creative effort in describing geographical location[4].

Example:Humans, dogs, and carts formed a scene on the snow like a Gypsy carnival.

Example:The horse team finally made it up to the ridge, where they reacted as if they’d discovered a cornucopia, whooping it up like mad.

Conclusion

The study of the geography features concerning Wolf Totem helps people to analyze the relationship between the characters, people and animals from the perspective of geography, understanding the novel from a new perspective. The geographical features of the natural environment and the social environment in the novel are fullyexplored. The analysis of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature, man and the universe from the perspective of geography deepens the understanding of the work. This research also gives a hint to future teaching of literature, which can be interpreted in multidisciplinary perspective.

References

[1] G.H. Wu, N. A.Wang and S.X. Hu.Physical Geography[M]. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2008. (In Chinese )

[2]Y. Hou. The Narrative Value of Wolf Totem[J]. Journal of Hebei University, 2011 (1) :94-100. (In Chinese )

[3] R. Jiang. Wolf Totem. Goldblatt, H.(Trans:)Wolf Totem[M]. N.Y, Toronto,London,Dublin,Camberwell,NewDelhi,Rosedale(NewZealand),Johannesburg:ThePenguinPress,2008.

[4] J.S. Zhang. Environmental Ethics Interpretation of The Call of the Wild and Wolf Totem[J]. Foreign Language Studies, 2013 (3): 87-92.( In Chinese )

The research is supported by Hubei Provincial Humanities and Social Science Fund (20Y071).