An Analysis Of Fu Lei’s Translation Of The Conquest Of Happiness From The Perspective Of Translator’s Subjectivity

Translation studies enjoy a long history. For a very long time, however, the focus of the academic concern was on the linguistic level. More importance was attached to the linguistic equivalence between the original text and the "translated one. But the role of a translator was not seriously taken into consideration. Since the 1990s, translation studies have been experiencing a "language-culture-people" change with the expansion of "cultural turn". From then on, translators began to enjoy their due recognition and respect. As a result, Translator’s Subjectivity has become a new approach in translation studies.Based on the theory of Translator’s Subjectivity, the present paper intends to explore the reflections and restrictions of the theory through a detailed analysis of Fu Lei’s version of The Conquest of Happiness. It is found, through the analysis, that the translator’s subjectivity is reflected in the text selection, translation style, translation strategies and the awareness of readers. Translation is not only a process of language conversion but also a complex process in which the cultural background, aesthetic knowledge of the translator and his or her attitudes towards translation and work style play an important role. In this respect, the translator is ubiquitous in the translated text. Therefore, the quality of translation is inevitably influenced by the motivation of the translator, translation style, the consciousness of readers, and so on. On the other hand, the translator’s subjectivity doesn’t display without its constraints. To a certain extent, certain historical background and cultural needs exert an impact on the selection of the text, translation style and translation strategies that a translator may employ. Actually, the exercise of the translator’s subjectivity can only be realized on the basis of a balance between his activeness and passiveness.It is hoped that this study can offer some enlightenment to other approaches of translation such as the strategies for literal and free translation, foreignization and domestication as well as the criteria of translation. The selected text for the study is Fu Lei’s version of The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell, which is of less concern compared with Fu Lei’s translations of French masterpieces. Dealing with the causes of people’s unhappiness and characterized by its profound philosophy, the work has gained a wide range of popularity in modern society where people’s well being and "index of happiness" are of great concern. Therefore, the study is significant both theoretically and practically.