A Study On Additions In The Translation Of Chinese Classics From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

As Chinese culture goes global,the demand for understanding Chinese traditional culture is increasing overseas,and Chinese and Sinology has become more and more popular.In such a context,the translation of Chinese cultural classics has attracted more and more scholars’ attention.At present,some scholars believe that the translation of cultural classics should maintain the original Chinese traditional culture as much as possible,while others believe that the original text should be adapted to the target readers.Therefore,based on the case study method and inductive method,this thesis intends to take Gu Hongming’s translation of Lunyu as an example,and discuss the application and effect of the strategy of addition in the translation of cultural classics from the perspective of reception aesthetics.This research attempts to answer the following questions:1.What kinds of addition strategy are used in the translated work?2.From the perspective of reception aesthetics,what effect can addition strategy achieve?3.In the translation of cultural classics,when does the translator need to adopt the addition strategy?4.What basic principles does the translator follow when adopting translation strategy?It is found that the addition translation strategy in Gu’s Lunyu can be divided into five categories: grammatical,semantic,logical,cultural and rhetorical addition.Through case study,it is found that when translating Chinese cultural classics,proper use of the strategy of addition can shorten the distance between the translated text and western readers,and make our cultural classics more easily understood and accepted by western readers.Grammatical addition should be used when the language structure of the target language and readers’ reading habits are involved.When it is difficult to grasp the general meaning of a sentence for readers,or when there are cultural differences between China and the West,semantic addition and cultural addition should be adopted.When enhancing the the coherence of the context,it is advisable to use logical addition.When recreating the rhetorical beauty of the original text,rhetorical addition can be used.In fact,these strategies complement each other and can be used comprehensively according to the specific context.This thesis also finds that Gu followed some basic principles when using the strategy of addition: reader-centeredness,meeting target readers’ horizontal expectation,reconstructing the blank of the text,appropriately adjusting the aesthetic distance.Among them,the fundamental principle of reader-centeredness runs through the entire translation process.These principles can give inspiration to the translators of other cultural classics.In conclusion,this thesis finds that the strategy of addition is still an effective translation strategy in the translation of Chinese cultural classics if used properly.Due to the limited ability of the author,there are inevitably some inadequacies in this thesis.However,it is hoped that this study can provide some reference for the translation of cultural classics.