A Comparative Study Of Legge’s And Xu’s English Translations Of The Shi Jing From The Perspective Of The Cohesion Theory

The cohesion theory put forward by Michael Halliday gives new inspiration to many translation researchers.The author of this thesis attempts to make a comparative study of the English translations of the Shi Jing from the perspective of the cohesion theory.English versions of the poems ‘Guanju’,‘Caige’ and ‘Jingnü’ translated by James Legge and Xu Yuanchong are chosen as specific examples to be compared.Comparisons are conducted in terms of repetition,reference,ellipsis and conjunction.The comparative study from the cohesion theory reveals the gains and losses of the form and meaning.It supplies a linguistic perspective of understanding literary translation.This thesis not only compares and contrasts the cohesive devices but also discusses why the translators apply them differently and what effects they make.The thesis concludes that when translating cohesive devices,Legge tends to translate the cohesive devices in accordance with the ST,while Xu adjusts the sequences of cohesive devices,and omits or adds them to make the TT shorter and imitate the rhythm.The different translations of cohesive devices convey different meanings and intentions.Legge hopes to express the meaning of the ST as much as possible.Xu makes the TT as concise as possible and sacrifices some meaning to make it easier to read.