A Comparative Study Of English Versions Of Da Xue From The Perspective Of Philosophical Hermeneutics

The implementation of the “Going Out” of Chinese culture is gaining momentum. Many English versions of Da Xue, the top of the Four Books, have been published. Each English version bears its uniqueness, having profound influences on cultural exchanges between the East and the West. In the Four Books, much research has been done on the English versions of the Doctrine of Mean, the Analects, and the Mencius, while less attention has been paid to the English versions of Da Xue. Among the English versions of Da Xue, Pound's version is highlighted, and Legge's and Lin Yutang's versions are of remarkable features. Legge adopts “mind-to-mind translation”, giving consideration to both Chinese culture and idiomatic English expressions. Lin Yutang advocates “faithfulness”, “smoothness” and “beauty”, promoting cultural exchanges between the East and the West. This dissertation is trying to apply philosophical hermeneutics to the study on the English versions of Da Xue and makes comparative analysis between Legge's and Lin Yutang's versions of Da Xue in order to probe into a new way in translation study.This dissertation introduces the research background, the significance and purpose of the research and the structure of the research in the beginning. Then it gives an overall review of the previous studies on philosophical hermeneutics, the translation and dissemination of Da Xue and the previous studies on English versions of Da Xue. Then it introduces three main principles of philosophical hermeneutics, namely “historicality of understanding”(“prejudice”), “fusion of horizons” and “effective history”. A comparative analysis of Legge's and LinYutang's English versions of Da Xue is given from these three perspectives and what accounts for the different features and disparities of the two English versions is illustrated in light of philosophical hermeneutics.Each version is unique and outstanding as a result of fusion of horizons. There is no need to say which version is superior or inferior. New age calls for new translations. When it comes to translation of Chinese classics, it is of great importance for translators to pay due attention to the process of horizon fusion so as to make new contributions to cultural exchanges.