Xu Yuanchong's Highlighting Of The Translator's Subjectivity In His English Translation Of Classical Chinese Poetry

In China, it is universally acknowledged that Xu Yuanchong is one of the great translators of classical Chinese poetry into English. He is not only a translator but also a translation theorist. He has made great contribution to both the formation of literary translation theories of the Chinese school and the rise in status of the Chinese translation in the world. Based upon his translational experience, he has put forward his own systematic theory of poetry translation, which can be summarized as the "art of beautifulization and creation of the best as in rivalry" (许渊冲2003a:前言). Apparently, his translational theory emphasizes his highlighted subjectivity as a translator in order to well reproduce classical Chinese poetry in English. This thesis aims at making a systematic research on his English translation of classical Chinese poetry from the perspective of the theory of the translator's subjectivity, and seeks to prove that his subjectivity as a translator is highlighted in his translation.The introduction part of this thesis presents the background of the research, the objectives of the research, the research hypothesis, and the structure of the thesis.The body of this thesis consists of four chapters. In Chapter One, on the basis of reviewing relevant researches by various Chinese scholars in the past, a research hypothesis is put forward that his subjectivity is highlighted in his English translation of classical Chinese poetry. Chapter Two firstly deals with the interpretation of philosophical subjectivity, then discusses how it can be borrowed into translatology to study the translator's subjectivity, and finally defines the translator's subjectivity highlighted in Xu's translation in his pursuit of poetic beauty, poetic rivalry, creative translating and delighting readers, in order to realize the translational purpose of developing his literary translation into the translated literature in the target language.The key parts of this thesis are Chapter Three and Chapter Four. Chapter Three aims at proving that Xu's subjectivity is highlighted in his English translation of classical Chinese poetry by citing examples of his pursuit of poetic beauty reflected in his ontology, poetic rivalry in his epistemology, creative translating in his methodology, and delighting readers in his purpose. Chapter Four gives a further explanation of Xu's highlighting of the translator's subjectivity, which comprises such internal factors as his personal competence as a translator, aesthetic attitude, special cultural attitude, and translation motivation; and such external factors as the traditional theory and practice of translation, and the "cultural turn" in translation studies.The conclusion consists of a summary of the discussion, as well as a presentation of the significance and limitations of the research, and suggestions for further study.