On Kenneth Rexroth’’s Subjectivity In His Translated Version Of Du Fu’ S Poetry: In Light Of George Stener’’s Hermeneutic Motion Theory

The present study attempts to explore Kenneth Rexroth’s subjectivity in his translation of Du Fu’s poetry, from the perspective of Hermeneutics, to be specific, George Steiner’s hermeneutic motion theory. A combination of descriptive analysis and inductive analysis is adopted in this study. The manifestation of Rexroth’s subjectivity in translating Du Fu’s poetry and the reasons for the exertion of his subjectivity are analyzed in Steiner’s hermeneutic motions, namely, trust, aggression, incorporation and compensation. Specifically speaking, in the motion of trust, Rexroth’s subjectivity is analyzed from two aspects; one is his affection for Du Fu, and the other is his selection of the 36 Du Fu’s poems that he translated. In the motion of aggression, Rexroth’s subjectivity is analyzed in terms of the aggression out of his Taoist belief and the aggression out of his different understandings of Chinese multi-meaning words. And in the motion of incorporation, Rexroth’s subjectivity is analyzed in his incorporation of the meaning and the form of the source poems. At last, in the motion of compensation, Rexroth’s subjectivity is analyzed in his compensation by rewriting and by title adjustment respectively. The study finds that in the process of translating Du Fu’s poetry, in each of Steiner’s hermeneutic motions, Rexroth has given his subjectivity into full play. And various reasons contribute to the exertion of Rexroth’s subjectivity in his translation of Du Fu’s poetry.