Self-help, translation and the bestseller : a case study of resilience : hard-won wisdom for living a better life

• Main Author: Hu, Jingya
• 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/10356/142662
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Self-help culture has been steadily gaining momentum in Chinese society over the last few decades. This trend started with the foreign classic self-help bestsellers and the popularization of self-help books is the key to propagating the American self-help culture to China. Self-help books are reputed as being able to help people open their mind, boost their confidence, teach them new skills, build a colourful life and most importantly achieve the goal and success they desire. The content of these books covers areas such as life philosophies, self-improvement and secrets to success. Given that self-help books have constantly topped the bestsellers list and managed to attract a great number of Chinese readers, this is where producing a Chinese translation of Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life plays an invaluable part. In addition, a Chinese-translated version of Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life would provide new insights into the connections between the bestseller, translation and self-help, and discover appropriate translation techniques for making the entire book a bestseller in the Chinese context. Moreover, the entire book features a distinctive narrative structure with a persuasive function, which distinguishes it from other self-help books. Hence, this paper also aims to provide new perspectives to translators who would undertake the translation of similar self-help books that are written as narratives.