A Study On Xu Yuanchong As A Translator

Being a colossus of translation, Mr. Xu Yuanchong is at the same time a successor and pioneer in the field of traditional Chinese poetry translation who has made irreplaceable contribution in both the formation of literary translation theories of Chinese school and the rise in status of the Chinese translation in the world. However, the fact that he is always at the center of controversy and his translation theories as well as practices are criticized widely will surely lead to an upsurge in the research of the experience and character of him, which definitely exerted great impact on every aspects of his translation.Case study is used in this thesis and as one chapter focuses on the experience of Xu from his early days to his old years, it is inevitable to involve certain people and certain things, some of which may even not be so pleasant to hear. Instead of evading those problems, the author takes serious and responsible attitude in writing down the past events as there were for readers' reference.By looking back upon the past the author wishes to make a comparison between the past and the present and prove that the society has undergone tremendous change, which will surely shed some light on how to carry out criticism in the translation field in new situations.The significance in doing this research lies in the following three aspects: first, Xu can be deemed as the epitome of the development of translation theories in China as he witnessed and took part in almost all the important discussions and disputes concerning translation in recent years; second, the change of his situation in academic circle and the fact that the public recognition he gains is on the rise show that today's society has become more tolerant to different opinions; third, some of the criticisms against Xu and his reaction reveals that there are a number of deficiencies in translation criticism and hopefully this discovery will lead to the solution of the existing problems.