Wu Juntao's And Witter Bynner's Translation Of Du Fu's Poems From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

Crowned as the splendid gem in Chinese and world literature, Tang poetry has invited numerous scholars to translate it into English. And many Tang poets boast a high reputation both at home and abroad. Among them, the most famous one is Du Fu, whose poems can serve as a record of Tang dynasty's turning from prosperity to crumbling. His poems were awash with such profound themes like sympathy for poor people, hatred of war, disgust of corrupt rulers and grief over his frustrating official career. Besides, his style of depressed pause and transition makes him one of the most successful poets in Chinese and world literature. Since the 20th century, many translated versions of Du Fu's poems have come into being with the development of the cultural communication between China and foreign countries. The author makes a comparative study between Wu Juntao's and Witter Bynner's translations of Du Fu'poems with a purpose of exploring the reasons for the emergence of different versions from the perspective of reception theory.Besides the introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One is about the translation of Du Fu's poems with the issue of the translatability of poetry, his life and the characteristics of his poems covered. Chapter Two is concerned with the reception theory and its two important pairs of concepts. Chapter Three identifies the translator first as a reader and then as a writer, trying to find out the reasons for the diversity in translation of Du Fu's poems from the two perspectives.Chapter Four analyzes the reception of Wu Juntao's and Witter Bynner's translation of Du Fu'poems.The thesis makes a comparative study between Wu Juntao's and Witter Bynner's versions not for the purpose of deciding which version is better but to discuss the reasons for the formation of different versions. The thesis concludes that as readers of the original poems, they understood the poems and concretized the indeterminacies in Du Fu's poems differently due to their various horizons and backgrounds, and as writers of the translated poems, they reproduced the original poems differently because of their different theories on poetry translation and considerations for the target readers. In the next chapter we will focus on the reception of their translations.