On Two Translation Versions Of Uncle Tom's Cabin From The Perspective Of Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics

There exists an intrinsic relationship between hermeneutics and the literary translating studies, in which we will find the former overlaps with the latter in a remarkable way in terms of the objects and scope they deal with. Interpretation is the soul of literary translation, which is essentially a process of aesthetical re-creation completed through the translator's interpretation. The whole process of translation consists of the two procedures of information reception and information release. Considering the openness and indeterminateness of literary text, its interpretation is more arbitrary than other types of texts. From the perspective of Hans-Geord Gadamer's hermeneutics-historical interpretation, prejudice and fusion of horizons, this paper discusses such questions as the openness of literary text, the participatory role of readers and the active role of translators through the case study of two Translation versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin. My study begins with the elaboration of the Hans-Geord Gadamer's hermeneutics.According to Gadamer, interpretation of all texts is historical. Both the interpreter and the interpreted are historical existence. Interpretation is but the interpreter's special historical"lingering"of the interpreted text. It is impossible to make a purely objective interpretation. Accordingly, misunderstanding is perennial. The historical interpretation results in prejudice, including misunderstanding. Gadamer fully affirms the significance of prejudice, which he thinks, constituents the historical interpretation. Both the interpreter and the interpreted own their respective horizons. It is required of translators to try to approach the initial horizons of the author to make a fusion of horizons. Fusion of horizons is based on historical differentiation. It has revealed why cultural filtering exists and why it unavoidable.Next the paper will introduce the original author and the two concerned translators. A comparative analysis will be made between the two translators from the perspectives of language, culture and the translation value. In the linguistic perspective, reproduction of words, syntax, text, characters and themes will be discussed, while in the cultural perspective, reproductions of religious materials, some cultural images and viewpoints on aesthetics and marriage will be concerned. Lin Shu used classical Chinese language and frequently adopted additions, omissions and adaptations, while Huang Jizhong employed vernacular in his literal translation. He made efforts to retain the content and style of the original novel. Their different strategies they adopted reflect the very openness of literary text and translator's active role.From the comparison between two or more different translations, we can observe that the interpretation of a certain text is multifarious. Different time, place and perspectives will produce various misunderstanding and prejudice. A translation is only a product of the prejudice of its own age. A good translation must be an accepted prejudice of its age. Hermeneutics can effectively interpret and explain some translation phenomena influenced and determined by social, historical and cultural context, particularly suitable for the studies of different translations produced many years ago or under different social, historical and cultural conditions. It sheds a new light on translation criticism, making it more polysystemic and lenient. Due to some defects and uncovered issues in this paper, we expect more discussions and explorations in this area so as to promote the development of translated literature.