On "Plural Complementarism Of Translation Standard"

"Plural Complementarism of Translation Standard" (PCTS) was first proposed by Professor Gu Zhengkun in the 1980s. Professor Gu formulated his translation theory by taking a dialectical and multi-epistemological viewpoints. By advocating the multiplicity of translation standard, he has not only broken the stereotype of the monism of traditional translation standard, but also demolished the traditional illusion of establishing a unique translation standard that can evaluate all translated works and guide all translation practice eternally.However, since it evoked a "strong echo" and the fact that it "nearly turned the topic of translation standard the theme of the seminar", PCTS hasn't caught enough attention in the recent decade. It's also a pity that very few people in the translation theory field make a comprehensive and systematic research on it. In this paper, the author attempts to interpret and analyze PCTS from different angles and also to explore its profound meaning in translation studies and in other disciplines. This paper tries to presents a systematic study of PCTS from the following aspects:Chapter one gives a brief introduction of PCTS and also generalizes those sporadic comments on PCTS. The author hopes, in this way, to give readers a general idea of PCTS.Chapter two analyzes the historical background of PCTS in terms of the situation of translation theory field at home and abroad. On the one hand, even though traditional translation theory has long focused on translation standard, and achieved a lot in this respect, yet it was situated in a specific historical context, so it is inevitable that it is bound to have some historical limitations. On the other hand, contemporary western translation theories have occupied the main discursive power in translation circle since the 20^th century. Although they have infused fresh blood into Chinese translation studies, they've also destroyed the balance of Chinese translation studies. Against this background, Professor Gu Zhengkun put forward the idea of taking a national stand and blending the essence of Chinese and western philosophical thinkings, and thus formulated the theory of PCTS.Chapter three is about the philosophical basis of PCTS. By applying philosophical multi-epistemology to the construction of translation theories, professor Gu has opened up a new way of thinking in Chinese translation studies. Meanwhile, he based PCTS on views of dialects, which mainly come from Taoism, such as the dialectic laws from Taoism, the relativism and multi-epistemology of Chuang-tzu and the way of converse thinking. These philosophical ideas have laid solid theoretical foundation for PCTS.Chapter four gives a detailed analysis of PCTS from the following three aspects: its essence as a translation theory; a comparative study of PCTS and traditional Chinese translation theories; a western theoretical thinking. As far as the first part is concerned, the author tries to analyze PCTS in terms of the thinking mode, the dialectic relationship between translation standard and the objective basis of concrete standards. According to PCTS, translation standards should be plural rather than unitary. Professor Gu classifies translation standard into absolute standard, the highest standard and concrete standards. The concrete standards are multiple, which is determined by objective realities such as the multiple functions of translation, the multiplicity of human aesthetic standards and the multi-level of readers and translators. As for the second part, the author has compared PCTS with traditional translation theories in terms of the expressing manners and the thinking modes. This comparison shows that Professor Gu has not only assimilated the essence of the concepts of traditional translation theories, but also established a standard system which is more systematic and scientific than the traditional ones. In the third part, the author points out that Professor Gu has adopted a western theoretical thinking to tackle with some fundamental issues concerning translation standard. He perceives and understands such issues as the classification of terminology, the nature of translation, the status of the receptors as well as the roles of the translators based on the achievement of western translation theories; meanwhile, the characteristics of western theories such as explicitness, rationalilty and scientificity have been reflected in his theory as well.Chapter five discusses the enlightment PCTS may bring to the construction of translation theories as well as other disciplines in China. During the process of carrying forward the tradition and making use of western theories, how can we avoid losing ourselves while learning and making use of the strong points of others? PCTS gives us an answer. This chapter attempts to prove the significant role PCTS plays in translation research from the aspects of complementarity of the theoretical thinking of the east and the west; complementarity of modern translation theory and traditional translation theory and complementarity of multiple disciplines and translation studies. Meanwhile, as PCTS is based on profound philosophical thought, it is not only philosophically significant to translation studies, but also to researches in other disciplines.Chapter six concludes the thesis. As a hybrid of traditional Chinese and western theoretical thinking, PCTS is established systematically and scientifically with an objective and prudent demonstration. It remains greatly helpful to translation studies if its essence has been better understood and been made best use of in a flexible and realistic way. At present, when "multiplicity" and "complementarity" have become the universal tendency in various research fields, the foresight of PCTS on the part of its philosophical thought is especially verified.