On Translator's Subjectivity In Translations Of The Art Of War From The Perspective Of Hermeneutics

Translator, who displays subjective initiative, playing an important role in the process of creating translated texts; however, it was marginalized and relatively neglected in the long history of translation studies. In the 1970s, after the cultural turn, the translator's subjectivity was gradually studied by different schools and fruitful research achievements have been attained. One of the achievements is the study of translation from the perspective of hermeneutics.Hermeneutics is the art of interpreting. George Steiner's four-fold motion theory proposed on the basis of philosophical hermeneutics combined hermeneutics with translation theory, providing a brand new perspective for translation theory, and promoting understanding of the public.Based on the texts of Griffith's version and Lin Wusun's version of The Art of War, and the four-step translation theory of George Steiner, "trust", "aggression", "incorporation", "compensation", the thesis tries to show how translator's subjectivity is revealed in the translated text and also contribute to the translation study of the best seller The Art of War.The translators adopt different translating strategies (either domesticating strategies or foreignizing ones) for the incorporation of SLT, and compensate original text by annotation and rewriting so as to get SLT and translated text balanced. There are diverse translation versions because of translators'prejudice and different understandings. Translate classics like The Art of War, translators should well understand and transmit the meaning of original text. Fortunately, both Lin Wusun and Griffith had done a good job though cultural barrier existed. With a lot of examples, the author made comparisons between texts of the two version of The Art of War, and observed their splendid translating skills and language competence, indicating that translator's subjectivity demonstrates through the whole translating activity.Hermeneutics approves translator's active interpretation. In the thesis, the four steps, "trust", "aggression", "incorporation", "compensation" is fully embodied in the translation process which affirms the translator's subjectivity. Therefore, the four-fold translation theory deserves to be highly appraised and the study of translator's subjectivity will continue to be a research focus in the translation circle.