A Study Of Lin Shu And Wei Yi's Translation Of David Copperfield: A Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, translated by Lin Shu and Wei Yi, was regarded by Lin Shu himself as the best one in his translated works. In the translation circle of our country, Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu has been a controversial topic; and the reason for that lies in the fact that the translation has many a deletion, addition, etc. However, the work that had been tackled specifically was applauded by the readers at that time. This paper is intended to give an analysis of this phenomenon from the perspective of skopos theory.In skopos theory, translation is considered as a purposeful and intentional activity. There are three very important rules, namely the skopos rule, intratextual coherence and intertextual coherence; among them, skopos rule is the prime principle. This paper will, after reviewing the related research on Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, Lin Shu and Wei Yi, and introducing the theoretical framework of skopos theory, place emphasis on the three rules of skopos theory and compare the original work with the translated version by means of conducting deductive method with an aim of analyzing its skopos.According to our study, we firmly believe that there are reasons for Lin Shu's application of such strategies as addition, deletion and alteration in Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu. The first is related to the general purpose aimed at by the translator in the translation process. In the late Qing Dynasty when the Chinese nation was poor and weak, influenced by the social background and advocating of "using what is learned from the west, keeping the essence through learning from China", Lin Shu adopted such strategies as addition, deletion and alteration to save the nation, adapt to the social thoughts of learning from the west, and propagate his political thought. The second is connected with the communicative purpose of the text. The translation is assumed to be easily accepted by the readers, arouse their interests and retain the conciseness of the classical Chinese. Last but not least, some particular translation strategies or procedures such as deletion, addition and alteration had been used for the specific skopos of facilitating the readers, bridging the gap between two cultures and advocating the traditional virtue of our nation. Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu has been universally acknowledged and achieved its anticipated skopos at last.