A Study Of The Influence Of Chinese And Western Criteria Upon Translator's Subjectivity

Because of the constantly-developing translation and translating theories, new translation methodologies and theories are surging, especially those from the perspective of culture differences. Accordingly, the translators'subjectivity, which is largely demonstrated in the process of translation by the translators, becomes a most significant topic in related academic researches. The study of translator's subjectivity is frequently connected to the research of the essence, process, and criticism of translation. It has stimulated the cultural study of translation, which would definitely lead to the so-called"translator turn", the turn from the language and culture oriented study to the human-subjected study.The study of translator's subjectivity has gone through two stages---the beginning stage and the developing stage. The first stage has marked itself the calling on and the researching of the status and importance of the translator in the process of translation. The second stage began in 2002, marking itself with the multi-angle and multi-level study of the translator's subjectivity.Translation is by definition interlingual and intercultural, it involves both linguistic and cultural transfer; in other words, it is a culture-transcending process. The term translator's subjectivity appeared in China because of being impacted by the western translation study, especially after the cultural turn in the 1990s. Since that, the horizon of translation study has been broadened in large scale. These days, Chinese people are spreading the typical traditional Chinese civilization around the world. At the context of it, translating Tang poetry into English will contribute greatly to the intercultural communication between China and the other countries with sheer and distinct differences.In this thesis, firstly, I make some expression on the Chinese and western translation criteria since they have great impacts on the exertion of the translator's subjectivity. Then, I take different English versions of four Tang poems as the conveyer to illustrate the value and significance of the translator's subjectivity. My specifying and analyzing of the four Tang poems aims to unfold my view resulted from the variety and possibility of understanding of Tang poetry.Moreover, in the process of comparing and contrasting to different English versions, I make a conclusion in the end of the thesis that the variety and possibility of interpretation provides more freedom for the translator to imagine and create. We can say distinct translators can create distinct translation from the same original. The translator is the most dynamic factor in translation. His/her purpose, strategies, methods, and aesthetic greatly influence the formation of the target text. For the constantly-surging translation criteria stimulate and promote the translators to exert more individual means to fulfill their translating practice, translators have enjoyed more freedom in interpreting and creating in target language, and according they are endowed to play the role as creators on the base of the source language texts to much extent.