A Study Of Xu Yuanchong's Translation Theories And Practice

The study of translators is an indispensable link in translation studies, which should not be neglected. Xu Yuanchong is a remarkable translator in contemporary China. He has translated large numbers of classical Chinese poems into English and French, contributing a lot to spreading Chinese culture to other parts of the world and promotes Chinese literature in the world literature. Besides great success in translation practice, Xu is involved in the study of translation theories. Through summing up his own translation experience and previous theorists'achievements, Xu brings forward a system of translation theories. Some scholars say that Xu lays equal stress on translation theories and practice; and his achievements and new theories appear one after another.This thesis is going to give a comprehensive and detailed introduction of Xu's translation theories one by one, analyze and conclude the features of his theories and practice. Two cases will be used to illustrate how Xu's translation theories are applied to translation practice.The first part gives a brief introduction to Xu's life experience, purpose, significance, and structure of the present study.The second part is a literature review. It reviews previous studies of Xu and lists their main viewpoints. The limitations of the previous studies lie in the unsystematicity and one-sidedness. The direction of the present study is making elaborate analysis of Xu's theories and practice, as well as their features, in the hope of providing material for the future study of translator.The third part reviews Xu's translation theories in detail. Xu's translation theories are developed on the basis of previous theorists'achievements and his own experience. Based on these theories, Xu puts forward"make advantage of the target language","theory of rivalry","theory of superconductivity"and"cloning theory". Features of Xu's translation theories are concluded as: inheritance and development, and stress on the translator's subjectivity and reader's response. The breakthroughs of them are listed as three points: 1) slip the leash of"faithfulness, expressiveness, gracefulness", 2) to be the first one to propose creative translation, 3) advocate the conception of"translation literature".The fourth part is the study of Xu's translation practice. At the beginning of this part, the author makes an overview on Xu's translation practice and lists some of his main published translations. Then, four features of his translation practice are pointed out:verse rendering for verse,polished diction & due consideration to source language and target language,harmonious rhyme shows the beauty of poem,and reproduction of images. Two poems—Militia Women and Farewell to A Friend are taken as examples to expound the application of Xu's translation theories.There are different attitudes towards Xu's translation theories in the circle of Chinese translation studies, both positive and negative. The fifth part compares the opposite attitudes toward Xu's translation theories and presents Xu's reactions towards those comments. The author points out the one-sidedness of those comments and calls for objective evaluation of Xu. Maybe Xu's theories are not so perfect, but the great contribution he has made to the development of China's translatology and spreading Chinese culture cannot be overlooked.In part six, a brief conclusion presents a clear sketch of what has been discussed in this thesis. In the end, the author acknowledges Xu's great contribution to spreading Chinese culture to the world and establishing systematic translation theories of the Chinese school.