A Tentative Analysis Of The Influence Of Translator's Subjectivity On Literary Translation

Hong Loumeng is one of the most important classics in Chinese classical literature and enjoys a universally acknowledged reputation as peak of the art of the novel in ancient China. Its profound and unparalleled artistic achievements made it also a magnificent representative work of splendid Chinese culture. And many Chinese and western translators have devoted themselves to its translation and studies. Hong Loumeng is such a book that gives different translators opportunities and scopes to bring into full play their wisdom and aesthetic tastes in translating. Each translator can give the novel a new version out of his own interpretation and creation just as there are different Chinese versions. In various English versions of Hong Loumeng, there are two most famous ones which refer to A Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Hsien-yi and his British wife Gladys Yang and the Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and his son-in-law John Minford.In the past, translation was once held in slight esteem and viewed as a derivative and inferior art and even viewed not belong to art for a long time. The translator, the creator of the translation culture, the very person that carries out this activity of translation, has long been ignored and obscured. Many translators mocked themselves as the translation-smith. Actually, translators'work doesn't only bear the hardships but also have full creativity. The exertion of translator's subjectivity will directly give influence to the quality of the version, and the prevalence and status of the works in foreign countries. And this thesis attempts to conduct an comparative analysis of these two versions of Hong Loumeng, and explore both translators'subjective decisions on the selection of the character Xue Baochai's image description. The image of Xue Baochai in Hong Loumeng has always been a dispute in literary critics. This character is not the leading actress in the novel but she possesses a very important status for reflecting the author's intention. Therefore, the research on different English versions Xue Baochai's description has more typical significance.These two versions on Xue Baochai's image description clearly present the two translator's subjectivity from many aspects. By introducing and comparing the study of the translator's subjectivity to the description of Xue Baochai in the two English...