A Study Of Zhou Zuoren's Views On Translation In Classical Chinese

Zhou Zuoren (1885-1967), a great and preeminent writer and translator in China, was well versed in learning of both Chinese literature and the Western literature, and both traditional and modern cultures. His study ranged from literature to Buddhism, and from sociology to aesthetics. For certain historical reasons, he was despised by the academic circle, and his academic achievements were greatly neglected in the past. His papers on translation theory have drawn widespread attention among Chinese translation theorists, practitioners, and scholars in the literary circle in recent years, since the academic atmosphere has been becoming more open in China, especially his translation practice and translation thought. However, his views on translation in classical Chinese put forth in "The Four Principles of Translation" in 1944 are still unknown to many people. In fact, he was a productive translation theorist. He translated more than 230 pieces of works and written many papers on translation, which laid a solid foundation for his views on translation. These are also his foundation of his translation thought. This paper aims to expound the rationality of Zhou's views on translation in classical Chinese.By far, several scholars have studied Zhou's views on translation in classical Chinese from three perspectives, which are quoting, interpreting and commenting. Current studies carry different features respectively, but there have been no remarkable breakthroughs for quite a long time. Through summarizing previous studies, reading Zhou's works and relevant materials, the author tries to prove the rationality of Zhou's views on translation in classical Chinese by combining his translation practice, theory and a case study.Zhou Zuoren started his way of new learning at the age of sixteen. When he was twenty years old, he followed Lu Xun, his elder brother, for advanced study in Japan. It was in Tokyo that he started his translation career by translating many foreign literary works, including many foreign stories and novels. Among them, The World's Desire is a good example. In his sixty--year translation career, he also wrote many papers on translation. Before the May Fourth Movement, most of translation works in China were in classical Chinese, and he was a representative of translation in classical Chinese. Zhou put forth these views on translation in classical Chinese, and these views also evoked echoes in the contemporary translation circle.On the whole, the paper focuses on the rationality of Zhou's views on translation in classical Chinese and its revelation to modern translation studies. It is centered on the advantages of translation in classical Chinese, the translator's subjectivity and the readers' expectancy.