Lin Shu's Translations In The Light Of Horizon Of Expectation And Target Reader's Response

Lin Shu is one of the most influential translators in Chinese translation history. His translation has become a unique phenomenon in the field of translation studies. On the one hand, without the knowledge of any foreign languages, he can still translate over one hundred and eighty foreign works; on the other hand, his translations enjoy great popularity at his time. However, Lin Shu's translations have been criticized by some famous translation critics for his intentional adaptations. Then, it is a significant task for us to seek the reason for both the popularity and contributions of his translations to the translation causes. One of the prominent features of his translations are target reader-oriented. Furthermore, the development of reception aesthetics and Nida's target reader's response theory has provided us with a good perspective to justify Lin's translations.Among traditional literary translation theories, both the author-oriented theory and the source text-oriented theory have occupied a definitely predominant position. And most of them have not taken the readers' reception of translation into consideration, nor have they considered that translation strategies should depend on the readers' reception and response in the translating process. The principles, which stress absolute fidelity of the target text to the source text, have been overemphasized. And the quality of translations has been mainly evaluated according to that principle. In the 1960s, with the birth of reception aesthetics theory, which is based on people's reception practice, whose theoretical basis is phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics, a new research method, known as an important revolution on methodology, has been established. According to the reception aesthetics and readers' response theory, the translator should take the readers' role and status into full consideration when he deals with various elements in literary translations. Readers should be regarded as the active and creative receptors during the translating process, which plays an important role in the choices of original texts and translation techniques.This thesis has discussed Lin Shu's translations in the light of reader's reception and response with the purpose of justifying the rationality and feasibility of his translations in the given social and historical environment at his time. The Causal Model in translation studies has been applied to expound the decisive factors of Lin's translation choices and strategies. First of all, this thesis affirms the similarities between horizon of expectation and target reader's response theory in taking the role of reader into consideration in translating. Thus, it points out the viability and significance of the application of these two perspectives in understanding Lin Shu's translation strategies. And then, Lin Shu's translations have been studied in the light of reader's horizon of expectation. This thesis also evinces that Lin Shu's translation purpose of warning his fellow countrymen and provoking the readers' patriotic emotions. Finally, it discusses the issues of Lin Shu's translation languages and domesticating strategy in the light of target reader's response theory. It concludes that Lin Shu's translations in classical Chinese, traditional narrative techniques and his intentional adaptations concerning with the ethical, romantic and religious elements awaken his readers' reading interest and meet their aesthetic standards.The target reader-oriented translation studies regard the target readers and their socio-cultural needs as the primary translation criteria. Thus, the studies on Lin's translations can help us a great deal to probe into the target reader-oriented literary translation studies. There is no doubt that an ideal translation should serve his readers. The popularity of a translation is the hallmark of a good translation. In conclusion, Lin Shu's translations have met the readers' reading and emotional needs, and his intentional adaptations have served the target readers. Therefore, in the light of his reader's horizon of expectation and response at his time, Lin's translations should be treated as great versions. However, the further studies can be undertaken on how to meet the ever-changing reader's horizon of expectation, how to meet the reading demands and aesthetic criteria of various readership, and how to explain Lin Shu's non-literary translations in the light of both horizon of expectation and Nida's target reader's response theory.