A Study On Allusion Translation In Chinese Courtship From The Perspective Of George Steiner’s Hermeneutic Motion

Allusions are characterized by indirect expression, concise form, abundant andprofound connotation, and they are of vital importance in traditional Chinese literature.As allusions show the historical and cultural accumulation of a nation, it is crucial fora translator to introduce the deep cultural contents to the target readers and to keep thecharacteristics of source language.Hermeneutics puts emphasis on understanding and interpretation, providing newangles and theoretical basis for translation studies and bringing it into a new stage.Hermeneutics stresses that different understandings generates different interpretations,so that different translators may interpret the same text in distinctive ways. GeorgeSteiner proposed that translation motion is fourfold: trust, aggression, incorporationand compensation. The translator’s subjectivity and influence on translation ismanifested in each step.Huajian Ji is a script of folk song composed during Ming and Qing Dynasties andsung by people in Guangdong and Guangxi areas, which was called one of the “TenMasterpieces by Talented Authors” alongside with Xixiang Ji and Pipa Ji. Huajian Jiis a long narrative poem written in verse containing a great deal of historical andcultural allusions. It was quite popular for beautiful words, twisted story and profoundcultural background information. It was translated into English by Thoms fromBritain in1824, and this thesis is carried out on this version.This thesis is conducted on the basis on Steiner’s hermeneutic motion and allusiontranslation in Huajian Ji, through the comparative study between Chinese and Englishversion to find out the translation strategies and rules adopted by the translator in thetranslation process. The present study is carried out under Steiner’s fourfoldtranslation theory to analyze how translator brings subjectivity into full play in thefour steps and the conclusions are categorized as followings: first of all, hermeneuticscould exert significant effects on allusion translation; second, allusion translation isnot simple reduplication and transformation which requires the translator to employdifferent strategies in various conditions; third, Thoms mainly adopted foreignizationin translating allusions and this strategy represents the characteristics of sourcelanguage in a better way. These confirm that translator’s decisive situation intranslation process, and also provide some useful references for further studies on the English versions of Hua Jian Ji and the translation of Chinese classics.