Translator’s Subjectivity In A Comparative Study Of Xu Yuanzhong’s And Stephen Owen’s English Translation Of Tang Poetry

Translators, as the subject of translation, play an essential role in the translation process. Translator’s subjectivity is the subjective initiative shown in the translation process, based on respect for the original texts, in order to fulfil his/her goals of translation. It is a fundamental feature of the translator, and usually consists of the translator’s translation theory, cultural awareness and background, artistic creativity and so on.Tang poetry is the treasure of traditional Chinese literature. Its delicate sounds and rhymes, unique forms, and concise sentences have attracted many people in the world. At the same time, in the translation of Tang poetry, the translator is often required to give full play to his/her subjectivity, in order to fully reproduce the meaning, logic, rhythm, artistic conception and beauty of the original poems.Xu Yuanzhong, as the only Chinese expert in translating classical Chinese poems into English and French, has made great achievements in his translation of Tang poetry. In order to fulfil his goal of promoting Chinese culture and the beauty of traditional Chinese literature, he has applied his translation theory,"Three Beauties", in his translation practices, making readers of the target text delighted in reading his translation works and feel the beauty in the original poems. Stephen Owen, as an American sinologist who mainly studies traditional Chinese literature, aims at introducing Chinese culture to the West. He regards the translator as the "agent of literature", and tries to maintain the "Chineseness" in the translation process, to let English readers feel the differences between two cultures, as well as two languages.Nowadays, there are few comparative studies on the translation of Tang poetry by these two famous translators, and even fewer from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. Therefore, this paper tries to conduct a comparative analysis on specific translation examples by the two translators from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity. The analysis will be done from aspects like the meaning, sound and form of the translation, to show the impacts of the translator’s goal, identity, language and cultural background, etc. on his/her translation strategy and results.