A Probe Into English Translations Of Sun Zi: The Art Of War

The study of the English translations of Sun Zi:The Art of War is a cross-disciplinary project, which covers translation studies, linguistics, bibliography, ancient Chinese philosophy, modern mass communication theory and literary theory.Based on the probe into the most significant four English versions of Sun Zi:The Art of War, this dissertation attempts to outline how this ancient Chinese military Canon is translated, accepted, commented and spread in the English world from an overall perspective in the grand framework of the Sun Zi Studies and the history of Sino-English cultural exchange. So both the diachronic and synchronic approaches are adopted to investigate the translating aims, value orientation, translating strategies and general attitudes which the different translators may take so as to depict the complicacy in translations of Sun Zi:The Art of War during different times.This dissertation focuses on the following themes:(1) Both intra-lingual translation and inter-lingual translation are touched to shed light on the function, features and nature of the later one in the Sino-foreign reference.(2) The general characteristics and the internal translating rules of how the first English version of this Chinese Canon was introduced and circulated in the western world are expounded by discussing such topics as the translating strategies of reverse analogical interpretation, the English translation of indigenous conceptions and high-low cultural contexts.(3) The western hermeneutical approach and the traditional Chinese textual research method are taken to look into two topics in the Lionel Giles's English version of Sun Zi:The Art of War---- Orientalization in translation and creative mistranslation. It is claimed that Giles's version is a bibliographical text thanks to its strict adherence to Sinology and scholastic rendering, and its academic value has remained authoritative and unmatchable in the English word.(4) The military perspective is adjusted to discuss the Samuel Griffith's English version. The stress is placed on the English translation of the military terms in semantics, pragmatics and structure while the emphasis on the relationship between translator's subjectivity and translating military terms is put on the other hand. (5) Lin Wusun's English version of Sun Zi:The Art of War is regarded as a culture-oriented text, in which Lin makes the most of linguistic, cultural and academic advantages as a native Chinese translator. So Lin's version is a good display of the profound connotation and the practical value of this Canon. And also the highlight is China English, which proves to be a product of English translation of ancient Chinese classic works by China's native translators and a result of linguistic and cultural hybridization through translation. It is evidenced that the hybridized English version comes the closest to the gist of Sun Zi:The Art of War in terms of translating culture-specific words, metallic military paragraphs special to the Canon and the Chinese way of thinking.In conclusion, taking the history of English translation of Sun Zi:The Art of War into account, we find that the translators are varied in nationality (foreign and Chinese) and its versions are military, academic and cultural ones respectively, which witness the exchange history of ancient military Canon with the English world in the recent century. The above-mentioned English versions of Sun Zi:The Art of War represent cultural achievements in different periods, and some versions have come classic ones in the English context, standing the test of time, space and readers, and thus have well established themselves in due times.As a result, every English version has helped the readers develop a better understanding of Sun Zi:The Art of War, and has expanded the dissemination and influence of Sun Zi's military ideas, and has far extended its life in the second intellectual world at large. These are both the ever-lasting challenge and charm of translating Sun Zi:The Art of War, and it rings true to the translation of any other ancient Chinese canon, too.