A Study On The English Translation Of Yanshi Jiaxun By Teng Ssu-yu From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

Yanshi Jiaxun,known as the ancestor of family instructions in China,contains a rich culture of traditional Chinese family customs and traditions,and covers all aspects of social life in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.As an important part of traditional Chinese culture,the English translation of Yanshi Jiaxun has contributed to the translation and dissemination of traditional Chinese culture in the western world.Family Instructions For The Yen Clan by Teng Ssu-yu is the earliest English translation of Yanshi Jiaxun,which has been highly praised by scholars at home and abroad.In the English translation of Yanshi Jiaxun,Teng Ssu-yu adopts the strategy of thick translation,which provides rich additional information to the target text through explicit thick translation and implicit thick translation,and successfully presents the long-lasting culture of ancient Chinese family instructions to western readers.Explicit thick translation includes not only long preface,abbreviations,bibliography and index of epitext,but also footnotes and parenthetical notes of peritext closely linked to the translation.They occupy a large amount of space in the translation and provide the readers of the translation with a wealth of linguistic and cultural information.Explicit thick translation and implicit thick translation complement each other.Implicit thick translation completes the logical relationships,metaphorical meanings and ellipses implied in the source text by adding words to the translation what dose not appear in the source text but has its own meaning,which reduces readers’ reading barriers and enhances the readability and comprehensibility of the translation.The adoption of thick translation strategy for Teng Ssu-yu’s English translation of Yanshi Jiaxun depends on the subjectivity of the translator,the purpose and target readers of the translation,while the differences between the unique linguistic and cultural specificity of Chinese and English language and culture also require him to adopt thick translation.Teng Ssu-yu’s English translation of Yanshi Jiaxun is intended both to disseminate the rich culture of family instructions in the source text to western readers and to provide study and research materials for western sinologists.As a historian and sinologist,Teng Ssu-yu’s rich knowledge of history and culture also provides strong support for his use of thick translation strategy.The adoption of thick translation strategy in Teng’s translation of Yanshi Jiaxun provides a successful experience for the foreign translation of Chinese classics.