| This thesis mainly explores the differences between English versions of Tao Te Ching since 1868. Tao Te Ching is one of the most widely translated Chinese classics. In English alone, there are well over a hundred versions. But this thesis focuses on ten English versions, half of which were produced by Chinese translators and the other half by Western scholars. The thesis will provide statistics and explanations for the selection of these ten versions.The thesis will introduce the source text and the basic information of the ten versions. Then the general differences between the ten versions will be identified through the research method of Descriptive Translation Studies (hereafter acronymed as DTS). To start with, chronologically, the English translation history of Tao Te Ching (hereafter acronymed as TTC) is divided into three stages: the period of Christianization, of Western Adaptation, and of plural interpretation. The general norms of the TTC translations within the three periods are touched upon respectively. And the ten versions within these three periods will be compared with examples to find out the general differences. Next, the main problems encountered by both Western and Chinese translators will be discussed. And how the problems caused by the various editions/commentaries and the philological features of ancient Chinese lead to the variety of the translations will be briefly analyzed. Then, the differences between the English versions produced by Chinese and English translators will be discussed with examples. After the discussion of the historical differences between the ten versions, the discrepancies between the versions produced by Chinese and Western translators, the thesis will come to the intertextual relationship between the versions themselves, and that between the versions and other relevant sources.The thesis concludes that DTS is of great importance to the study of the English translation of Tao Te Ching in that the idea of the "partiality" of any... |
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