On Translator's Subjectivity In The Translation Of Classical Chinese Poetry

It is generally accepted that translator's roles and his subjectivity have been denied in the philology and linguistics paradigms of translation studies. Based on the detailed study of translation theories both at home and abroad, this thesis argues that translator's subjectivity and his roles have actually been recognized and advocated under the former two paradigms. The fact is no matter how their creative roles have been marginalized, the invisibility of translator's subjectivity cannot efface its real existence. Translator's creativity and manipulative power is manifested in every stage of translation activity, from the interpretation and reproduction of the original text, to the selection of source text, translation purpose and specific translation strategies. Cultural Turn since the 1970s has posed a strong challenge to the traditional translation principle of faithfulness and fidelity, and more attention is paid to extra-textual factors. Under such circumstances, translators'roles and their subjectivity have finally won their legitimation. Previous studies concerned with translator's subjectivity are mainly target-oriented, that is, more emphasis is focused on the cultural and linguistic norms of the target language. Actually source-culture orientation can be another important dimension in studying translator's subjectivity, because factors such as the cultural and linguistic norms of the translator's mother tongue, the status and recognition of the original text in translator's mind, his cultural identity etc. will strongly influence the translation practice. The integration of source and target culture orientation can be a better perspective to look into the real translation activity.Hong Lou Meng is a masterpiece in classical Chinese literature, with hundreds of poems and lyrics dotted in almost every chapter. They show the readers the richness of the poetic splendor, and they are also an integral part in the plot construction and the forming of main characters. Numerous studies concerning translation of Hong Lou Meng have been conducted and poetry translation in Hong Lou Meng has always been a hot topic. So the poetry translation in the two complete English versions (The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and John Minford and A Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang) is selected as case study to investigate into their differences in poetry translation both internally and externally. The combination of norms and manipulation/rewriting theories ensures a comprehensive study of the two versions from a macro perspective. Comparative studies are conducted to study the whole translation process, and some major external factors that may constrain translator's practice are detected and analyzed with specific example as case study. But it should be noted that as cognitive subjects in translation practice, translators are not just passive receivers, they also actively reproduce information with great creativity. Their interpretation and rendering of the original text is manifested with strong personal characteristics, individual value and aesthetic belief. Of course, such subjectivity is restricted to certain social and historical entities. So the combination of norms and manipulation/rewriting with translator's subjectivity as the framework of this thesis ensures a joint perspective in the probing into various factors that may influence the translation activity, both internally and externally.Major issues such as which version is better, what is a correct translation or how to translate etc. in the traditional prescriptive translation studies are abandoned. General methodology of descriptive translation studies is adopted to study the translation process. Comprehensive investigation and reasonable inference of translator's personal competence, cultural identity, social and cultural background, translation purpose and patronage etc. are made to describe and explain the whole translation process.The research shows that translator's subjectivity is a good perspective to study the two successful English versions with distinctive features. The manipulation or rewriting over the original text and the full play of translator's subjectivity are under certain social and ideological circumstances. Translation is a dynamic and interactive process, and the final products are actually the compromise and balance among various factors, both internal and external. Studies on translator's subjectivity can shed some light into relevant studies on retranslation of literary works, and also provide theoretical basis for modification of translation principles as well. It is suggested that more researches on contemporary translators, especially those who are still alive, should be conducted. This is of tremendous significance to translation criticism and translation history.