On Gu Hongming's Motivation And Strategies In His Translation Of Confucian Classics

This thesis centers on the famous figure Gu Hongming and his Chinese-English translation activities during the late years of the Qing Dynasty. By elaborating on his choice of text, motivation of translation and strategy choice, the author tries to find out how his translation activities were examined from the perspectives of habitus and field.Taking Gu's Chinese-English translation of two Confucian classics Lunyu (《论语》) and Zhongyong (《中庸》) as examples, through an exploration of Gu's choice of text, motivation of translation and strategy choice, the author aims to illustrate that the formation of a translation is determined by the participation of the translator's habitus and the restraints of social and cultural context of his time. The famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's theory of "habitus and field" serves as the theoretic framework of the thesis. The theory offers a brand-new perspective in analyzing a translation through a detailed and all-round observation of the translation process. In applying this theory to the analysis of Gu's Chinese-English translation activities, the author of this thesis finds that his specific translation habitus and the field he posits are displayed step by step. It is evident that Gu's choice of text and motivation and his strategy choice are caused by his habitus and the restraints of the social and cultural context of his time. The translator's habitus constructed through his special experiences and the social and cultural factors of his time will lead to the translator's unique translation activities.