Translation, rewriting and reconstruction of image in Lee Kuan Yew : Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going

• Main Author: Chia, Wai Chun
• Other Authors: Cui Feng
• Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Humanities::Language
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142583
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is one of the most influential political leaders known for transforming a third-world country into a first-world nation. The publishing of Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going offers an insight into Mr. Lee’s inner thoughts and most truthful iteration of his considerations when devising policies during the nation’s formative years. Some of those decisions were unpopular and perceived as controversial and sensitive. Through the comparison of the English and Chinese editions, this paper discusses the poetics, patronage and ideological differences, which suggest the reasons for the translation and rewriting in the Chinese edition with a different readership in mind. Translation is able to perform specific functions in a particular social and political context and influences the perception of the image of a political figure in a substantial manner. Therefore the practice of translation and rewriting which takes into account social and political considerations can either complement or restrict each other during interaction, skewing writing to suit a particular ideology and reconstruct an image that the authors hope to portray. Towards the English readership, this paper concludes that the patron intends to convince Singapore’s younger generation with a political ideology, by presenting a direct yet humanistic side of Mr. Lee whose concern has always been for the survival of the country. For the Chinese edition, in contrary to Mr. Lee’s original intention to reach out to the young generation of Singaporeans, this paper concludes that the Chinese edition is likely to be read by overseas Chinese readers, Singapore’s older population and also new immigrants who are naturalized citizens, and therefore hopes to present a different image of Mr. Lee, to justify his past decisions and garner buy in for his ideologies.