A Study Of Giles's Strange Stories From A Chinese Studio From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Liaozhaizhiyi written by Pu Songling is widely known in China.Although it is just a collection of short stories in form,because of the various images,fascinating plot,and profound ideological connotations,Liaozhaizhiyi has already attracted the attentions of many foreign translators and won the interest of people from all over the world.As one of the master works of Chinese classical novels,Liaozhaizhiyi can be said to be one of the most popular works of Chinese classics around the world,with the most translated languages and versions.Among the many foreign translations of Liaozhaizhiyi,the English version named Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio translated by Herbert Allen Giles is the most popular and influential one so far.Therefore,Giles' s Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio is an indispensable part for the study of the English translation of Liaozhaizhiyi,and is also an important part for the study of Giles himself.Skopos theory emphasizes that translation strategies are influenced by translation skopos.On the basis of all the participants and other factors during the translation process,the translation skopos is formed and changed.Then the translators adopt appropriate strategies to make the translation function achieved by readers in a way that is coherent to the target context.It is found that there are many manipulations in Giles' s translation,and the translation purposes are also prominent.This thesis attempts to take Skopos theory as the theoretical basis,and take Giles' s Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio as the main research object to study the translator's aims,the choices of translation strategies and the achievement of translation function.This thesis is mainly divided into three parts,respectively the introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction focuses on the study background,the literature reviews of Giles and his Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,theoretical framework and paper frame etc..The main body is researched from three chapters.The first chapter is the analysis of translation aims on the basis of Giles' s attitude towards original text and culture.The second chapter is the study of translation strategies under Skopos theory.The third chapter refers to the translation function from the perspective of target readers.Finally,the conclusion makes a summary about the findings and limitations of this thesis.Through a detailed study of the above contents,the thesis tries to come to conclusions that Giles is appreciative and respectful to Chinese culture in the translations of Chinese classics.He not only devotes to culture transmission,but takes the reception of readers into full consideration.It is confirmed that Giles' s translation of Liaozhaizhiyi is greatly influenced by the translation skopos.Giles adopted multiple strategies flexibly in translation,by which the translation aims are achieved ultimately.What's more,this thesis inspires the researches of Giles' s other translations of Chinese classic and provides experiences to the contemporary translations of Chinese literary works to emphasize the translation functionality and help to promote Chinese culture to go out better.