ABSTRACT
Hongloumeng is a masterpiece of Chinese literature and has been translated and retranslated from time to time. The version entitled The Story of the Stone, rendered by David Hawkes and John Minford, has gained high prestige in academia. The publication of the version is not just the translators’ endeavour, but involves a number of agents who participate in the project and exert their power over the translation through various interventions. This study delves into the invisible practices behind the publication, puts agents on the spot, and examines their roles and influences on how the translation is presented to the Anglophone readers. To investigate these activities in the production process, this study explores the interactions between agents by drawing upon the primary sources collected from the Penguin Archive. These sources offer crucial access to the working conditions and practices in procedure as well as provide a whole picture of the production. Adopting a sociological approach, the study of The Story of the Stone also sheds light on the identity of the agents and the power play in the process.
