On Translator's Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Aesthetic Reception And Power Discourse Theory

For about half a century, translation study is gathering momentum and has achieved its breakthrough in either profundity or scope. The translation theories, in either domestic or abroad, have approximately developed along the following sequence: author-centered paradigm, text-centered paradigm and reader-centered paradigm. During the process, the translator's subjectivity is gradually arresting people's attention. In a certain sense, translation is actually the communication and conversation between the translator and the original text with the author behind. Then the translator's subjectivity could not be avoided. In every stage, the translator's subjectivity exerts its function in one way or another.This thesis, grounding on the power discourse theory and the aesthetic reception, probes into the common core pointed to by the two theories, namely the translator's subjectivity. Relating to the theories, the features of the translator's subjectivity is analyzed followed by the embodiments in different aspects. After that, the thesis resorts to a case study-the comparison of the two translated versions of Caigen Tan by Jiang Jiansong and Paul White respectively-to help demonstrate the translator's subjectivity which exerts quite influential function in translation activity. As is well known, Caigen Tan is a noted gemology which is the crystallization of classical Chinese culture. Therefore, the selection of its translation is of crucial meaning to the translation study. The writer of the thesis hopes that people of insight may come up with valuable opinions after my humble effort in this regard. Here one point that needs to be clarified is that what the writer discusses in the thesis is within the limits of literary translationThe thesis falls into the following seven parts:Part One: introduction. The literature review illuminates the historical as well as the present development of the translator's subjectivity. Also included are the purpose, the significance, the methodology, and the structure of the thesis.Part Two: elaborates on the translator's subjectivity Part Three: presents aesthetic reception theory and the corresponding analysis on translator's subjectivityPart Four: presents power discourse theory as well as the corresponding analysis on translator's subjectivity;Part Five: introduces the usual manifestation of translator's subjectivityPart Six: is a case study. Grounding on the mentioned two theories, the writer makes a comparison between the two versions of Caigen Tan in the light of translator's subjectivity.Part Seven: the conclusion part, pointing out the existence of the translator's subjectivity and its formidable function and appealing to people to pay attention to the factors beyond the text.