Xu Yuanchong’s English Version Of Kong Que Dong Nan Fei In Light Of George Steiner’s Fourfold Translation Motion Theory

Kong Que Dong Nan Fei, the first and the longest narrative poem in the history of Chinese literature, reached the peak of Yuefu poetry. It has dramatic plot and social reflection with more than ten characters portrayed in365five-character lines. It has been translated into numerous foreign languages since it was first rendered into Russian in1935. Xu Yuanchong, a well-known and productive professor in Peking University, is the first Chinese translator who renders this poem into English in1988and his English version has a great influence on later versions. However, the investigation shows that the English versions of this poem, including Xu Yuanchong’s, are rarely observed or studied.Based on the hermeneutic theories, George Steiner puts forwards his fourfold translation motion theory, consisting of translator’s trust, translator’s aggression, translator’s incorporation and translator’s compensation. First translator chooses the original text to translate and gives it full trust. Then he or she invades the original text violently, extracts the profound meaning and brings it home. In incorporation of form and meaning translator decides what to preserve and what to lose. In order to reestablish balance, translator has to compensate by various translating techniques.George Steiner’s fourfold translation motion theory provides the theoretical foundation to this thesis and forms the framework of it. The study object is Xu Yuanchong’s English version of Kong Que Dong Nan Fei and all the examples are derived from it. The thesis consists of six parts in total. Introduction part includes a brief introduction to Kong Que Dong Nan Fei and its English versions, literature review, George Steiners fourfold translation motion theory and the structure of the thesis. Chapter One expounds translator’s trust in the original text from the two aspects of the value of it and translator’s personal factors. Chapter Two elaborates translator’s aggression to the original text with his or her community background, cultural conventions and linguistic competence. Chapter Three makes an exposition of translator’s incorporation of form and of meaning. Chapter Four sets forth translator’s compensation at linguistic and aesthetic level and points out two common inappropriate compensations, namely under-compensation and over-compensation. Then it comes to the conclusion that George Steiner’s fourfold translation motion theory gives a fresh perspective of translator’s subjectivity, which penetrates into all the translation process. Translator can and should bring subjectivity into play but excessive subjectivity will lead to the betrayal of the original.