A Study on How Lin Shaohua Translates 「タ形」 Tense in "Killing Commendatore"

This paper looks at the Japanese book "Killing Commendatore" by Haruki Murakami and the Chinese version by Lin Shaohua. It focuses on how Lin Shaohua deals with the Japanese 「タ形」 (past tense) when he turns it into Chinese. The study finds that Lin uses five ways to do this: (1) direct translation of time words, (2) using time words and small words together, (3) using small words to show tense clearly, (4) using small words to make up for tense, and (5) letting the situation show the tense without extra words. The writer built a database with 1843 example sentences. The study finds that the fifth way (letting the situation show tense) is used most often (69.8%). The fourth way (using small words to make up for tense) is second most used (23.4%). This shows that Lin's translation keeps the original meaning but also keeps the writing beautiful and smooth. This matches Lin's idea of "aesthetic faithfulness." This study can help people who do literary translation.