Classics, Hermeneutics, And Translation: A Study Of The English Translation Of Wenxin Diaolong

Hermeneutics, often roughly defined as a theory or philosophy about the understanding and interpretation of textual meaning, is a controversial academic field with a long history and a bright prospect of development. The intense debate in hermeneutics is to some extent a reflection of our view as to whether the world is knowable. The heterogeneous hermeneutic theories, complicated and opaque as they might be, can be grouped into two schools, classical hermeneutics and philosophical hermeneutics, according to their stance on meaning; the former stresses the objectiveness of meaning and the importance of interpreters'freedom from prejudice, while the latter maintains that prejudice and misunderstanding are an integral part of understanding, and thus meaning is subjective and elusive.Chinese classics refer to the works that are rich in implication and creativeness and that can stand the test of time. Due to the fact that classics are generally written in the remote past and that social milieu and language are in constant change, their interpretation is both a challenge and an important project in academia. To interpret Chinese classics will eventually encounter the interpretation of meaning, and therefore hermeneutics may provide a theoretical framework for this enterprise. Wenxin Diaolong, a masterpiece in traditional Chinese theories of literature, is broad in scope, profound in meaning, and grand in style, hence a classic in every sense of the word. This dissertation is a discussion from hermeneutic perspective on both the intra-lingual and inter-lingual interpretation of Wenxin Diaolong, with emphasis on the latter.The dissertation, chiefly a study of the English versions of Wenxin Diaolong at the micro-level (linguistic level), consists of seven chapters. The first chapter briefly introduces the significance of this project and the research methods employed, and outlines the achievements in the study of Wenxin Diaolong per se and the study of its English translation. The second chapter presents a theoretical framework for the translation of Chinese classics by briefing the essentials in classical hermeneutics and philosophical hermeneutics and introducing Qian Zhongshu's dialectic hermeneutics and George Steiner's"fourfold hermeneutic motion"theory; this chapter also touches upon the essence of classics and the requirements for qualified translators when translating Chinese classics into English. From the third chapter to the sixth chapter is a focused study of the English versions of Wenxin Diaolong. The third chapter tackles the question of understanding and the C-E translation of Chinese literary terms such as wen, dao, de, and qi. The fourth chapter launches an in-depth probe into the interpretation and C-E translation of the title of Wenxin Diaolong, as well as the titles of some chapters of the book. The fifth chapter is devoted to the classified discussion of translation of the metaphors used in Wenxin Diaolong. The sixth chapter is a comparative study of the overall translation strategy and translation style of Vincent Yu-chung Shih, Stephen Owen, and Yang Guobin, covering both the strengths and weaknesses of their English versions. The last chapter summarizes the main ideas of the dissertation, points out its inadequacies, and provides some prospective thinking over the future development of C-E translation of Chinese classics.It's held in the dissertation that the Western classical hermeneutics, Qian Zhongshu's dialectic hermeneutics and George Steiner's"fourfold hermeneutic motion"theory can be the theoretical source for C-E translation of Chinese classics. Western classical hermeneutics, whose aim is to find the original meaning and to avoid random interpretation, is objectiveness-oriented and thus can be accepted as the methodology and epistemology in translation studies. Qian's dialectic hermeneutics puts much emphasis on hermeneutical circle so as to find original meaning, and both linguistic and social context, both reader's and author's role in textual interpretation are taken into account. Steiner's"fourfold hermeneutic motion"theory is his reflection on translation process at a philosophical level, and although it dwells on the aggressive and destructive side of translation, it nonetheless highlights the importance of compensation so as to restore the balance. To sum up, in C-E translation of Chinese classics priority should be given to objectiveness and stability of meaning, and to the balance between the original and the translation. Admittedly translation is a process of interpretation and creation, but the interpretation should be valid and based on objectiveness, and the creation should be re-creation out of the original. The elusive side of meaning and translator's unavoidable pre-understanding are no denial of the fact that the original meaning is to a large extent stable and understandable just as the world is in essence knowable. Translation should not be the stage where the translator may magnify uncertainties of meaning and his pre-understanding, and to find and re-present the original meaning should be the top priority for the translator.