On The Translator's Subjectivity In The Two Translations Of Fu Sheng Liu Ji In Light Of George Steiner's Fourfold Translation Motion

Translation is an intercultural information transformation, which is undertaken by the translator, so the translator's subjectivity is an indispensable factor in translating activities. After the cultural turn in the seventies of the last century, the translator's subjectivity draws more and more attention both in the eastern and in the western countries. The translator's subjectivity means that the translator gives play his or her own subjective initiative in the dynamic process of translation. In light of hermeneutic theories and George Steiner's fourfold hermeneutic motion, this thesis takes Fu Sheng Liu Ji as the case study and discusses the translator's subjectivity so as to properly deal with the translator's subjectivity.Hermeneutics studies the understanding and the interpretation of the text. Any translation cannot be separated from the understanding and the interpretation of the original text. Heidegger and Gadamer's hermeneutic theories extend the horizon of translation studies and lay the foundation, for the studies of the translator's subjectivity. On the basis of hermeneutic theories, George Steiner puts forward the fourfold translation motion, including trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation, and the translator's subjectivity embodies in each step of the translation process. The translator chooses the original text to translate by the translator's own fondness, intention and so on; then the translator would adopt suitable translation strategies to translate by his or her own understandings in the second step "aggression" of the translation process; at last the translator would take some techniques to keep the balance between the original text and the translated text.Fu Sheng Liu Ji is an autobiography by Shen Fu in Qing Dynasty, which is very important in the literature of Qing Dynasty. Of the three existing versions, Lin Yutang's translation version greatly influenced the Western countries in the 1930s, for it spread the Chinese ancient culture for the west. Shirley M. Black's translation version published by the Oxford University Press made the western people in the 1960s know more about ancient China. In the process of the translation of Fu Sheng Liu Ji, both Lin Yutang and Black develop their subjectivity to render the meaning of the original text Fu Sheng Liu Ji.In light of the study of hermeneutics, especially George Steiner's fourfold hermeneutic motion, this thesis takes Fu Sheng Liu Ji as the case study and compares the two translations by Lin Yutang and Shirley M. Black. It will be found that in choosing the original text, understanding and expressing meaning as well as keeping balance, Lin's translation focuses more on faithfulness besides fluency, while Black makes major changes on the content and the form of the original text. Therefore, Lin's translation is more faithful to the original and better conveys the literary grace of the original. The translator should respect the author as well as the original text and make suitable adjustments but not to compile and distort it.