Dai Suiliang's Research On The French Translation Of Taoist Classics

Léon Wieger,a French sinologist,translated Taoist Classics such as Dao De Jing,Lie tzu and Zhuang tzu into French.In the process of the translation,he mainly explores Taoist philosophy from three aspects,i.e.the world-view philosophy,life philosophy and political philosophy.The interpretation style he adopts in the translation has formed a special translation feature,which can be regarded as a cross-cultural interpretation.His translation has an important significance in the history of Taoist Classics interpretation and Sino-French cultural exchanges.The thesis reviews the current academical status both in China and abroad,and tries to take the hermeneutic theory as the research method to study Léon Wieger's translations and his interpretation of Taoist classical works.The paper mainly consists of six parts:Chapter One introduces Léon Wieger's life,his translation of Taoist Classics,the translation purposes,the layout and the grounds of the translation,and the strategies of the translation.Chapter Two relates the Chinese traditional interpretation of Taoist Classics and Léon Wieger's interpretation methods of Taoist Classics.Chapter Three discusses Léon Wieger's translations of the key words“dao?”,“de?”,“yinyang??”in the Taoist philosophy.Chapter Four explores how Léon Wieger translates Taoist Life Philosophy,which includes his interpretation of“Guiji Lesheng????”,life ethics and the views on life and death.Chapter Five explains how Léon Wieger interpretes the Taoist political philosophy,including his interpretation of inaction,Sages,governance of the Sages and foreign political strategies.Chapter Six relates the influence of Léon Wieger and his French translation of Taoist Classics.It firstly studys the general situation of French Sinology in the 19th and 20th century,and then investigates the spread and influence of Léon Wieger's translations,the history of Taoist classical translations in France and his contribution to the study of Taoism in French.The Conclusion Part summarizes the full text:Léon Wieger,with an intercultural identity,translates the Taoist Classics according to the Chinese traditional interpretation and literature commentaries,which show his respect for the source language culture,making the Taoist classical translations become a kind of intercultural communication.Léon Wieger's translation of Taoist Classics that combines both the Chinese and western academic research achievements has the pioneering value,interpreting value and literature value.His interpretations of Taoist thoughts have greatly influenced the re-translation of Taoist Classics in French Sinology of the 20th century,which has milestone significance in the history of Taoist Classics French translation.His translation and works on Taoism serve as important reference documents in the research field of Taoist Classics,Taoist Canon and the history of Taoism.