Translator’s Creative Treason In James Legge’s English Version Of The She-King Under The Manipulation Of Ideology

Translation is not only a conversion from one language to another, but also a cross-cultural communication when it is seen in the background of society, history and culture. And in this communicative activity, the translator has been caught in a dilemma:to be faithful to the original on the one hand, or to create particular genre of his/her own on the other hand. Therefore, it is of great significance to study creative treason under the background of cultural turn.As one of the most important sinology in the West, Legge is always in pursuit of "fidelity". His translation of the She-King which is the milestone in the translation history of Shih Ching, is regarded as the best example of foreignization. However, after an in-depth reading on this work, the author of this thesis finds that though he endeavors to be faithful to the original, Legge has made lots of personal interpretations in his translation of Shih Ching, which will lead to the translator’s creative treason to the original.Based on ideology, one of the factors in manipulation theory, this thesis discusses the translator’s creative treason in Legge’s the She-King, and analyzes the reasons by the approach of descriptive translation and comparative analysis. Through the analysis of the social background, the translation purpose as well as the translation strategy of the translator, reasonable explanations will be given to the presence of the translator’s creative treason in literary translation. In addition, the thesis will provide a strong proof for evaluating James Legge’s The She-King impartially and reasonably.The research shows that it is an effective way to analyze Legge’s the She-King under the manipulation of ideology. Social and individual ideology leads to Legge’s personal interpretations to the original, which are related to his cultural tradition, personal experiences, attitudes to the original and so forth. And his understandings and interpretations is influence by factors of Christianity and western culture that result in creative treason in his translation.