An Analysis Of Translator's Subjectivity Based On Three English Versions Of The Analects

In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Confucius and his Analects. Confucius is an important person in China, even in the world. And his work, The Analects is an influential book at home and abroad. This book is divided into twenty "books", and each "book" further divided into "chapters". Each "book" includes different number of chapters. Though these books are not without sequential order or coherent form, it covers a wide scope of subjects from politics, philosophy, literature and art to education and moral cultivation. There are many translations of The Analects, and each translation has its own character, it carries with its translator's mark. In this thesis, the author chooses three English versions of The Analects to analyze the translators'subjectivity. Three English versions are respectively translated by James Legge, Ku Hungming and Lai Bo & Xia Yuhe.This thesis takes skopos theory as its theoretical basis to carry out the research. Skopos is the Greek word for "aim" or "purpose" and was introduced into translation studies in the 1970s by Hans J. Vermeer as a technical term for the purpose of a translation and of the action of translating. Skopos theory holds that each translation is produced for certain purpose and serves for the purpose. This thesis is arranged as follows:Introduction presents the research background, research questions, significance and structure of this thesis. Chapterâ… is literature review. In this chapter, the author gives an overview of works and articles about The Analects and translator's subjectivity. There also has a brief introduction to The Analects and its three versions.Chapterâ…¡is an introduction to the skopos theory. There must be a "skopos" in translator's mind when s/he does her or his translation, and decisions which s/he made in the translation process serve the certain "skopos". This chapter also analyzes the relationship between skopos theory and translator's subjectivity.Chapterâ…¢is the main part of this thesis. The author makes an analysis of translator's subjectivity based on three English versions of The Analects, selects some chapters of The Analects to compare differences among the three versions and explores the causes behind these diversities. At the mean time, this chapter also analyzes some key terms like "Ren, Li, Dao, and Junzi", different translators give their own understandings about these key terms.Conclusion is the ending of this thesis. Translation is important for cultural communication and even human society. And as the subject, translator should be valued.In the conclusion, the author summarizes strengths and limitations of the thesis, and makes suggestion for further study.