Hermeneutic Multiplicity And Retranslation Of Li Sao

Hermeneutic translation theory originates from modern Hermeneutics, which took shape in the 1960s in the western world. Its representative Hans-Georg Gadamer introduces the concepts"prejudice"and"horizon"into modern hermeneutics. He points out that"prejudice"is a pre-understanding entailed by history, and in translation it is the prerequisite of understanding and interpretation. Any interpretation can't get rid of the influence of personal prejudice. The meaning of the text is realized in the fusion between the current horizon of the interpreter and the historical horizon of the text. Hermeneutic horizon is historical and open to evolution with the change of prejudice. The prejudicelss objectivity in interpretation is just an ideal.Translation is a bilateral process of understanding and representation. Any translation requires repeated conjectures and explanations. So usually the textual interpretation is not a one-time behavior, but a recurrent process, in which new elements constantly emerge through the fusion of horizons between the interpreters and the interpreted text. This process forms the"effective history of understanding and interpreting"for the translated object. Every translation has to be synchronically"selective"in itself while diachronically"progressive"when compared with the prior efforts.Under Gadamer's hermeneutic translation theory, this paper does a comparison and analysis of the translation multiplicity among three English translation versions of Li Sao. First of all, in terms of textual understanding and decoding, this paper probes into the validity of hermeneutic historical understanding in different versions from perspective of prejudice and fusion of horizons between the interpreter and the text. The paper further points out that examining and using the horizon of authoritative exegesis and annotation books as reference is an effective way to facilitate the translator's comprehension and ensure the validity of the interpretation. Being different from those previous researches on"fusion of horizons"limited within the scope of understanding, this paper expands further into a new phase—the target text reproduction process, in which another round of"fusion of horizons"takes place. In this round, the language output and processing through artistic creativity and different choice of translation techniques to the demand of the target readers also contribute to diversity and multiplicity in translation. Finally, from the effective history perspective, this paper maintains that different translation versions should bear different missions. Individual translator's motivation and translation style always endow the target text with its unique historical value, enabling the source text to extend its life and energy beyond the temporal existence of being. This is where the significance of retranslation lies.Yet, Gadamer's hermeneutic theory is not flawless. In the final part, the paper points out the underlying trap charged by critics. The last chapter makes an exploration on how to avoid the defect of Gadamer's hermeneutic theory in translation practice.