“Borrowing” and “Reconstruction”: A Study on the Localization Path of Zheng Zhenduo’s Translation of Children’s Literature

Abstract

During the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Zheng Zhenduo translated and introduced a large number of foreign children’s works when he edited the magazine Children’s World, thus pioneering a localization path of children’s literature translation guided by the child-centered concept. Taking the three-dimensional integrated framework of educational value, artistic quality, and entertainment value in Zheng Zhenduo’s child-centered idea as the theoretical basis, this paper examines his differentiated translation strategies. The study finds that Zheng Zhenduo’s translation practice can be summarized as a hierarchical localization strategy divided into superficial localization and in-depth localization. Through analyzing typical cases, this paper reveals the internal logic of his localization strategies and puts forward the concept of hierarchical localization to generalize the characteristics of his translation approaches. The core argument is that Zheng Zhenduo’s differentiated translation strategies are the concrete application of his child-centered concept in the field of translation.