本论文对1949年至2022年间的中国当代小说英译本做了全面、系统的梳理，在此基础上，借鉴文化翻译、比较文学形象学和世界文学等相关理论，探讨中国当代小说中政治话语、性别话语、民间文化与传统文化的翻译问题，深入分析其所建构的中国文化形象。研究发现，在意识形态、诗学审美、出版机构以及市场的交互作用下，“自塑”的翻译总体上呈现出一种经过修饰和美化的倾向，旨在建构文化中国的积极形象；而“他塑”的翻译则经历了从丑化到再现文化中国形象全貌的演变过程。本论文进一步论述了翻译与中国形象建构中的伦理和政治问题，并从世界文学的维度阐述了中国当代小说译本的性质和价值。本论文对于从整体上总结中国文学外译及其中国形象建构的成就与经验、理论与方法、特点与问题，有较为重要的参考价值，也有助于引导西方读者深化对中国文学和文化形象的认知，认清中国当代文学在世界文学中的位置，促进中国当代文学在世界文学空间中的流通和拓展。各章内容具体如下:

       第一章聚焦于中国当代小说英译中政治话语的再现与改写。中国当代文学史在很大程度上融入了中国当代政治史的脉络，因此政治背景一直贯穿于中国当代小说的创作。通过考察1949至1979年小说英译本对具体“政治话语”的翻译，发现由中国外文局主导的“自塑”的翻译呈现出经过修饰和美化的政治中国形象。自1980年代以来，英语世界开始主动翻译中国当代小说，其“他塑”的作品凸显了丑化的无产阶级政治中国面貌。通过分析1992年以来小说译本中的政治话语，发现“红色基因”依然在译本中清晰可见，建构了多样、丰富的政治中国形象。

       第二章勾勒了中国当代小说英译中性别形象与性话语的发展与变迁。性别形象和性话语在中国当代小说的建构和描述中占据重要位置，也是英语世界学者和读者关注的重点。然而，通过文本细读发现，中国当代小说英译在人物形象塑造和性话语的再现方面与原文存在一定的偏离。故本章聚焦于女性形象、男性形象以及性话语在译文中的呈现，勾勒中国当代小说中的性话语在英译本中的历史变迁，呈现不同维度的性别中国形象。

       第三章聚焦于中国当代小说英译对民间文化书写的调适和修正。民间文化往往作为展现地方特色，以生动亲民的方式融入中国当代小说。然而，民间文化的翻译是译者面临的最大挑战之一，也是译者在面对文化异质性至高点时发挥创造性的关键时刻。本章借鉴民俗文化的相关概念和术语，分析了小说中书写地域文化特色的民俗语言、丧葬礼俗文化和民间信仰在英译中的转换，研究发现英译文对原文进行了简化与调整，重构了小说中的民间中国文化形象。

       第四章分析了历史文化典故和儒道传统思想在翻译中的在场与缺席。辛亥革命结束了帝制王朝的长期统治，1949年中华人民共和国成立，中国步入了社会主义时代，中国文学也由古代文学逐步发展到中国现当代文学的新阶段。尽管中国文学在形式上似乎与传统文学发生了断裂，但中国当代小说始终未曾中断与中国传统文化的血脉联系。本章分析小说中的历史文化典故、儒家传统思想和道家传统思想在英译文中的传达，发现1990年代以来的英译再现了“仁爱”与“反者道之动”等中国传统文化的内核，建构了有着悠久历史文化的传统中国文化形象。

       基于前文的文本细读与对比研究，本论文最后一章探讨了中国当代小说翻译中的重要问题。首先探讨了翻译如何建构中国形象的问题；其次从伦理的层面分析了翻译中的“异质性”问题；接着考察了翻译中的政治问题，包括翻译中的文化霸权和政治无意识；最后延伸到翻译与世界文学关系的探讨。通过深入探讨当前中国当代小说翻译所面临的核心问题，可以为今后中国当代小说翻译研究提供可行性的研究路径。

       This thesis makes a comprehensive and systematic review of the English translations of contemporary Chinese novels from 1949 to 2022. On this basis, it draws on the relevant theories of cultural translation, comparative literature imagology and world literature to explore the translation of political discourse, gender discourse, folk culture and traditional culture in contemporary Chinese novels, and explores in depth the cultural image of China constructed by them. It is found that under the influence of ideology, poetic aesthetics, market and publishing institutions, “self-construct” translation generally shows a tendency to be modified and beautified in order to construct a positive cultural image of China. However, the “other-constructed” translation has experienced the evolution from the ugly to the continuous representation of the overall cultural image of China. This thesis further discusses the ethical and political issues in translation and the construction of the image of China, and expounds the nature and value of English translation of contemporary Chinese novels from the perspective of world literature. This thesis has important reference value for summarizing the achievements and experience, theories and methods, features and problems of translation of Chinese literature and construction of Chinese image as a whole. It also helps guide western readers to deepen their understanding of Chinese literature and cultural image, and recognize the position of contemporary Chinese literature in world literature, and promote the circulation and expansion of contemporary Chinese literature in the world literature space. The contents of each chapter are as follows:

       The first chapter focuses on the reappearance and rewriting of political discourse in English translation of contemporary Chinese novels. The history of contemporary Chinese literature is closely intertwined with the political history of modern China, thus imbuing political contexts within the creation of contemporary Chinese novels. By examining the translation of specific “political discourse” in the novels from 1949 to 1979, it is found that translations dominated by the Chinese Foreign Literature Bureau, denoted as “self-constructed” translations, tend to present a politically constructed image of China that has been refined and beautified. Since the 1980s, the English-speaking world has actively introduced contemporary Chinese novels. These “other-constructed” works highlight the ugly aspect of proletarian political China. By analyzing the political discourse in the translation of the novel since 1992, it is found that the “red gene” is still clearly visible in the translation, constructing a diverse and rich political image of China.

       The second chapter outlines the development and changes of gender images and sexual discourse in English translation of contemporary Chinese novels. Gender images and sexual discourse occupy an important position in the construction and description of contemporary Chinese novels, and also garner attention of scholars and readers in the English-speaking world. However, through the close reading of the text, it is found that there are often deviations in the characterization of characters and the representation of gender discourse in the English translation of contemporary Chinese novels. Therefore, this chapter focuses on the representation of female images, male images and sexual discourse in translation, outlines the historical changes of gender discourse in English translation of contemporary Chinese novels, and presents gender images of China from different dimensions.

       The third chapter focuses on the adaptation and revision of folk cultural writing in English translation of contemporary Chinese novels. Folk culture is often integrated into contemporary Chinese novels as a function of showing local characteristics and being vivid and close to the people. However, the translation of folk culture is one of the greatest challenges faced by translators, and it is also a crucial moment for translators to exert their creativity in the face of cultural heterogeneity. This chapter draws on the relevant concepts and terms of folk culture, analyzes the translation of folk language, funeral rituals and folk beliefs with regional cultural characteristics in the novel, and finds that the translation basically simplifies and adjusts them, and reconstructs the image of Chinese folk culture in the novels.

       The fourth chapter analyzes the presence and absence of historical and cultural allusions, Confucian and Taoist traditional thoughts in the translation of contemporary Chinese novels. The Revolution of 1911 ended the long-term rule of the imperial dynasty, and the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. China stepped into the era of socialism, and Chinese literature gradually developed from ancient literature to a new stage of modern and contemporary Chinese literature. Although Chinese literature seems to have broken with traditional literature in form, contemporary Chinese novels have never lacked the gene of traditional Chinese culture. This chapter delves into the transmission of historical cultural allusions, Confucian traditional thoughts, and Daoist traditional thoughts in translation. It reveals that English translations since the 1990s have reproduced the core of traditional Chinese culture such as “benevolence” and “the movement of the Dao by contraries proceeds”, and constructed the image of traditional Chinese culture with a long history and culture.

       Based on the previous close reading and comparative study of the text, the last chapter of this thesis further explores some important issues in the translation of contemporary Chinese novels. Firstly, it discusses how translation constructs the image of China. Secondly, it analyzes the problem of “heterogeneity” in translation and raises it to the ethical level. Then, it examines the political issues in translation, including cultural hegemony and political unconsciousness. Finally, it extends to the discussion of the relationship between translation and world literature. By exploring the core problems of translation of contemporary Chinese novels, this thesis provides a feasible way for future studies in the field of translation of contemporary Chinese novels.