A Study On The Translation Of Shi Ji From The Perspective Of George Steiner's Fourfold Translation Motion Theory

Shi Ji is one of the most marvelous works of China.Reputed as “a masterpiece of historiography and an unrhymed Li Sao”,it's embodied with great historical value as well as literary value.Its accurate description,lofty style,vivid characterization and brand-new way of presenting history have attracted quite an impressive number of scholars and translators to study and translate it.Concerning the English translation of Shi Ji,these three versions are worth mentioning.They are the versions translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang,Burton Watson,William.H.Nienhauser,Jr.respectively.Among the three versions,the Yangs' and Waton's versions are of similar importance and commenced almost in the same period,therefore,a comparative study between the two is not only viable but also meaningful.George Steiner's fourfold translation motion theory contributes a lot to translation studies,especially the comparative studies of literary translation.After a basic study,it can be found,this theory,which depicts the whole translation process in detail,can be used as the theoretical framework of the comparative study between the Yangs' and Watson's translations of Shi Ji.Actually,it is precisely under the guidance of such a theory,firstly,the differences between the two versions can be interpreted;secondly,a more comprehensive understanding and objective evaluation of the two versions can be provided.The thesis firstly offers a brief introduction,then Shi Ji and its translation are covered in the second chapter,after which the theoretical framework is discussed in detail.The fourth chapter is a concrete analysis of the translators from the view of the theory,and the fifth chapter which serves as the major part is actually a comparative study of the two versions supported by the third and fourth chapters.Finally,there comes the conclusion part.Through the thesis,it can be found that despite similarities,there are generally more differences existing between these two versions.And the differences are mostly attributed to the translators' different handling in the steps of “aggression” and“incorporation”.In terms of their translations of Shi Ji,different cultural consciousnesses and personal understandings contribute to the differences in the“aggression” motion,different translation thoughts,translation purposes,translationenvironments and some other factors give rise to the differences in the“incorporation” motion.To conclude,the author writes the thesis in the hope that more attention will be paid to George Steiner's fourfold translation motion theory and Shi Ji's English translation as well.