On Resistant Translation From Post-Colonial Perspective-A Case Study Of Yan Fu's Translating Evolution And Ethics

Yan Fu, as one of the most famous translators in the Recent History of China, translated quite a few western works and introduced to Chinese people the brand-new western ideas. His translation, in essence, makes great contribution to the war against Feudalism. For many years, a lot of scholars have exerted great efforts to study the translation and translation theory of Yan Fu. Although the results are fruitful, the researching scope is by no means comprehensive, for the scholars always focus on the three requirements for translation, namely, faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. However, if we probe deeper into his translation, we can easily detect the limitation of the previous researching scope.In light of this and with the help of the"resistant translation"theory proposed by Laurence Venuti, this thesis is going to approach Yan Fu's translation Tian Yan Lun from the post-colonial angle. Through the close examination of the social and historical background under which Tian Yan Lun was translated, as well as Yan Fu'own experience, the writer will probe into the detail of this book, to see how Yan Fu realize"resistant translation"from the discourse, cultural and ideological levels respectively.The conclusions of this thesis are as follows: On the one hand, in terms of translating strategy, the"resistant translation"adopted by Yan Fu is actually a translation method which is, in essence, different from the micro-techniques that are commonly seen in other translations. This kind of translation not only involves transforming one language into another, but the translator's own narration and comments as well. On the other hand, if we probe deep into cultural issues, we can easily spot that Yan Fu adopts domestication in his translation, aiming at emphasizing the ethnic differences of Chinese literature. This kind of practice is the resistance against cultural hegemony of English speaking countries. The reason why Yan Fu adopts domestication strategy is closely related to the social and historical background at that time.With the help of the relevant theories of translation and literature, historical materials and specific case study, the writer probes deep into Yan Fu's translation Tian Yan Lun, trying to dig out the"ideological resistant elements"in the work. Meanwhile, the writer still wants to point out that, the efforts made by Yan Fu to resist the cultural hegemony and bridge the cultural difference between two languages should by no means be ignored, for they also provide precious guidance for the translation studies in China and the world as a whole.