A Study On Lin Yutang's Translation

This paper is a study on Lin Yutang's translation to see how he translated to introduce traditional Chinese culture (including literature) to the West. This study involves both Lin Yutang's translation theory and practice, including what translation materials he chose and how he practiced his translation theories in his Chinese-English translation.The paper will analyze the three standards for translation that Lin proposed in his essay On Translation, i.e. faithfulness, fluency and beauty. Lin further put forward three responsibilities for translators in light of the three standards. They were respectively the responsibility for the source text author, for the target reader and for art.As a translator himself, Lin Yutang was trying to balance among the three responsibilities, which can be proved by his Chinese-English translation practice. The paper will present and analyze examples from his Chinese-English translations, to show Lin's efforts in conveying the contents and the form of the source text, and in making the target reader better understand the translation. However, in dealing with differing source texts, Lin Yutang did not attach equal importance to the three translation standards.Generally speaking, Lin's translations were mainly source text-oriented, or say, foreignizing translation. Such a strategy of translation accords with Lin's initiative purpose of choosing classical Chinese philosophical and literary works as translation materials, that is, to introduce traditional Chinese culture to the West and to promote Western readers' understanding of China. In fact, either by employing the 'source text-oriented translation' or by employing the 'target reader-oriented translation', Lin Yutang aimed at communicating Chinese culture to Western readers.By analyzing examples from Lin Yutang's translations, the paper aims at highlighting the values of Lin's translation ideas and practice. And more, such a study is hoped to be a supplement to today's studies on Lin Yutang.