A Study Of Liang Shiqiu As A Great Translator

As a prolific versatile scholar, Liang Shiqiu is deemed an outstanding translator as well as a famous essayist. He not only translated over a dozen western literary books, but also finished translating The Complete Works of Shakespeare. His translations have exerted far-reaching influence. But for various reasons, no enough attention has been paid to his translation theory and practice. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a systematic study of Liang Shiqiu as a great translator.First, this thesis overviews the status quo of the studies of Chinese translators, reviews Liang Shiqiu's life and contributions, and mentions the necessity and framework of the thesis. Next, the thesis makes a summary of major studies of Liang Shiqiu as a remarkable translator in China. Then it discusses in detail Liang Shiqiu's attitude and viewpoints on translation, as well as the underlying factors that influenced them. Liang advocates the principle of unification of"faithfulness"and"smoothness", proposes"literal translation"on the basis of sentences as units, and approves of translating and retranslating"first-class"works, but he opposes unnatural"Europeanization"and"relay translating". Besides, the thesis expounds and proves Liang's translation strategies and explores his translation characteristics by analyzing typical examples selected from his version of The Merchant of Venice. Finally, the author concludes that Liang adheres to such translation strategies as"Foreignization goes first, domestication second", literal translation, and literal translation with notes added. Liang's translations mainly assume the form of prose, with rhymed lines inserted on occasions. They are concise and faithful to the original.It is sincerely hoped that this study will contribute to a better understanding and appreciation of Liang's translation theory and practice and help promote the studies of Chinese translators so as to propel translation studies in China to a higher order.