Patronage Factors in Goldblatt’s Translation of Sheng Si Pi Lao

This chapter examines Goldblatt’s translation of Sheng Si Pi Lao in relation to the manipulation of patronage factors. In addition to poetological and ideological influences, Goldblatt’s trans-cultural rewriting of Sheng Si Pi Lao has been governed by other factors, the so-called patrons—the extra-textual factors that affect a translator’s rewriting, the “patronage outside the literary system” (Lefevere, Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame, Routledge, 1992, p. 16). Paratextual analysis of these factors provides not only greater insights into the unique attributes of Goldblatt’s translation, but also a fuller picture of the translation, reception and dissemination of Goldblatt’s L&D.