A Comparative Study On The Two Selected Chinese Versions Of Wuthering Heights From The Perspective Of Descriptive Translation Studies

The present paper is designed as a descriptive translation study on two different Chinese versions of Wuthering Heights. For the descriptive purpose, this paper employs Gideon Toury's descriptive methodology, incorporating the micro-level description scheme initiated by Jose Lambert and Hendrik van Gorp. Such adaptation enables a comprehensive and less problematic descriptive study. Drawing on both textual and extratextual types of source, the study attempts to find the similarity and difference between Liang Shiqiu and Fang Ping's translation of Wuthering Heights for the reconstruction of their translation norms in action.This study takes cue from Toury's descriptive translation theory, but builds equally on the poly-systematic analysis, as description is not a mere end in itself. The aim however is use elements of the theoretical apparatus to prize open the social, political and cultural environment of the translation of Wuthering Heights and their potential influence.To illustrate a clear picture, this paper presents five chapters: Chapter 1 gives an overview of the whole paper, with an introduction of its research background, a literature review of previous studies and explanation of the academic value of the present study. Chapter 2 provides a general introduction of the theoretical framework, namely the descriptive translation studies, with special reference to the notion of translation norm. A larger proportion lies in the next chapter, coming up with a comparative study of the two selected Chinese versions of Wuthering Heights. After the study, a critical analysis is given in Chapter 4, with efforts to explore the social and cultural factors that determine the difference in the selected translations. Finally, the Chapter 5 draws a conclusion from the descriptive study on the two Chinese versions of Wuthering Heights.