A Study Of Lin Yutang As A Translator

This thesis intends to examine Lin Yutang's translation theory and practice as well as his cultural attitudes with a view of achieving a better understanding of the historical position of this great translator and his contributions to the construction of China's new culture and new literature.The thesis is composed of four chapters, excluding the introduction and the conclusion. The Introduction states the objective, scope of discussion and methodology of the thesis. Chapter One gives a literature review of the comments and existing research on Lin Yutang and his works. Chapter Two examines Lin's translation theory. It compares the traditional translation standards with Lin Yutang's translation standard with a focus on the breakthrough of Lin Yutang's theory. He is the first one in China to point out that translation studies should be based on linguistics and psychology. With regard to definitions of some translation terms, he advocated "sentence translation", which he thinks is easier to follow in practice. Besides, Lin Yutang voiced his enlightening view of connecting translation criteria with the responsibilities of the translator. Chapter Three explores Lin Yutang's views on the merging of Chinese and Western cultures, that is, his perspective of cultural harmony, and analyzes the origins and opinions of the two schools in modern China according to their attitudes toward culture. The influences of both Chinese and western cultures--- classical Chinese literature, Confucianism and Taoism, and Christianity---on Lin Yutang's childhood, student life and religious belief contributed to his objective and fair attitude toward these two cultures and his deep understanding of the merging of the cultures. Chapter Four classifies Lin Yutang's translation works and examines his translation strategy. Lin translated a great number of works representing Confucianism and Taoism and others such as prose, essay, novel, poetry and drama which agreed with his literary taste. In order to achieve the goal of introducing Chinese culture and appealing to the Western readers' interest, he used both domestication and foreignization skillfully. In short, Lin's Chinese-English translation is faithful to the original in meaning and plain and explicit in language, which accords with his standards of translation—"fidelity, smoothness and aesthetic beauty". The last part is the Conclusion.Lin Yutang is a language master in Chinese and English, a pioneer in the introduction of Chinese culture, and a significant translator in Chinese literary history. He made great contributions to the spreading of Chinese culture to the world, and helped promote the studies of translation theories. His contributions are permanent and his art of translation is worth appreciating and learning. The study of Lin's translation views and practice has a great realistic significance for the development of the current translation theories and practice, and for the introduction of Chinese culture to other peoples.