Author Agency in Non-mother-tongue Writing: A Case Study of Eileen Changs Chinese Life and Fashions

Non-mother-tongue writing is a unique phenomenon in literary creation. During the creative process, the translator's cultural perspective and choice of translation strategies can directly influence the expressive effect of the work. Eileen Changs Geng Yi Ji is an essay on clothing culture, available in both Chinese and English editions, that documents the evolution of Chinese fashion over the past three centuries. This study uses the English version of Chinese Life and Fashions as the research object and the Chinese back-translated text, Geng Yi Ji, as a reference. Combining non-native language writing theory and a feminist perspective, it conducts an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the author's cross-linguistic creative subjectivity and cultural representation. Through detailed textual analysis, the Western influence in the semi-colonial Shanghai in the late 19th century, along with the authors feminist perspective, function as two major factors shaping the voice of this article. Meanwhile, the shifting editorial review systems of journals between different eras have also influenced their style. Employing a cross-cultural perspective, this paper reexamines Chinese Life and Fashions through post-colonialism and feminist criticism, aiming to deepen public understanding of Eileen Changs creative style and to provide a reference for the translation of other Chinese literary works.