The Embodiment Of Translator’s Subjectivity In Literary Translation: A Comparison Of Two English Versions Of Shui Hu Zhuan

Since the appearance of the “cultural turn” in the field of literary translation inthe1970s, scholars in this field from both China and abroad have shifted theirattention from the perspective of linguistics to that of culture. Consequently,translator’s subjectivity and cultural identity have become a significant topic forstudies on literary translation. Translators, as the principal part of translation, isalways affected by his/her subjectivity throughout the process of translation, andhis/her translating goal and subjectivity finally determines his/her translation methodsand strategies. This thesis explores the influences of the subjectivities of Pearl S. Buckand Sidney Shapiro on their translation of Shui Hu Zhuan from the perspective oftranslator’s subjectivity.Shui Hu Zhuan, as one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels, has beentranslated into many languages. Pearl S. Buck’s All Men Are Brothers and SidneyShapiro’s Outlaws of the Marsh are the most popular versions among all Englishtranslations. Previous studies on these two English versions focus on the debatebetween domestication translation and foreignization translation. Different fromprevious studies, this thesis takes the approach of translator’s subjectivity through acomparison between these two versions. In particular, it focuses on three aspects,namely, the central position and the leading role of the translator, the influence oftranslator’s consciousness on translation and the influence of social environment on atranslator. Furthermore, the thesis interprets the aspects of translator’s subjectivity as reflected in these two versions of Shui Hu Zhuan.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces the background,purpose and significance of this research and basic structure of this thesis. ChapterTwo offers a literature review of the studies on the translator’s status from a humbleposition in the past to a subjective status at present, explains the definition of thetranslator’s subjectivity, and discusses three factors that influence the subjectivity of atranslator. Chapter Three deals with the background information of the two translatorsand values their English versions of Shui Hu Zhuan. Chapter Four, the main body ofthis thesis, explores the translators’ subjectivity as is reflected in their translation ofShui Hu Zhuan through a comparison of the titles, nicknames, figures of speech,culturally-loaded words, proverbs and idioms. It also analyzes factors of thetranslator’s subjectivity that contribute to these similarities and differences. ChapterFive is a brief retrospective summary of the main arguments discussed in previouschapters.Based on the comparative study of these two versions, this thesis argues that thetranslator’s subjectivity is a critical factor that determines the success of a translation.Moreover, because Pearl S. Buck and Sidney Shapiro have different culturalidentities，their translation purposes and strategies reveal their different subjectivities.This thesis sheds light in the study on the translation of Shui Hu Zhuan by focusing ontranslator’s subjectivity in translation.