On The Translator’s Subjectivity In The Translations Of Moment In Peking From Steiner’s Hermeneutic Motion:a Comparative Study Between Zhang’s And Yu’s Versions

In the traditional translation theories, the translator was regarded as a "humble servant of the source text". The translator’s status was valued much lower than that of the source text and the original author, and the translator’s subjectivity was therefore neglected. In the1970s, with the "cultural turn" in the translation studies, the subjective role that the translator plays in translation has been gradually recognized and studied from various new perspectives. As a science of understanding and interpreting meaning, hermeneutics not only provides a new perspective for the translation studies, but also deepens people’s understanding of the translator. In his book After Babel:Aspects of Language and Translation, George Steiner (2001) proposes the "Hermeneutic Motion" which has provided a new theoretical basis and study method for the research on the translator’s subjectivity.Moment in Peking is regarded as the most influential one among Lin Yutang’s works. Written in English, this novel has introduced the great Chinese culture to the world. At present, although several Chinese versions of Moment in Peking have been published and are popular among the Chinese readers, there are only a limited number of studies on its translation, not to mention the study on the translator’s subjectivity in the process of translation. Therefore, this thesis attempts to adopt Steiner’s hermeneutic motion, consisting of four movements, namely, trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation, to make a comparative study between its two Chinese versions, translated respectively by Zhang Zhenyu(张振玉)(2010), and Yu Fei(郁飞)(1991), supported by the key ideas of Philosophical Hermeneutics. Through the analysis of the translators’different motivations, different understandings, interpretations and compensational methods in the translation process, this thesis systematically discusses the reflection of the translator’s subjectivity in the translations of Moment in Peking. Finally, based on the analysis of the translator’s subjectivity in the translations of this novel, the author believes that the translator is the most active and decisive factor in the translation process and the exertion of translator’s subjectivity directly influences the product of translation practice.