Literary Translation From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

Translation is a process starting from the original text and ending with the translated version. According to the traditional translation theories, either author-centered or text-centered ones, it is possible for the translators to discern all the stated and implied meanings in the source language text and to produce a perfect version of a particular work as long as the translators are competent. Standards for a good translation, therefore, lie in the achievement of absolute equivalence to the original text in form, content and flavor.In the 1960s, a new literary theory—reception theory came into being, with Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser as its two major representatives. As a new methodology evolved from the theory of hermeneutic and phenomenology, reception theory marks a shift in concern from the author and the work to the text-reader relationship.With the help of the two concepts in reception theory, namely"horizon of expectations"and"indeterminacy"proposed by Jauss and Iser, the author analyzes the two translations of Shui Hu Zhuan by Pearl S. Buck and Sidney Shapiro respectively as a case study of the application of reception theory in literary translation, and proposed some tentative recommendations with regard to the translating activity, i.e. while admitting the necessity and must of the existence of more than one translated versions of a literary work, classic and accurate ones are required for the correct understanding of the source language text by the readers, which can be realized by further study of the historical and cultural facts of the source language text by the translators.