Poetry Translation In The Three-Level Reception Theory Of Reception Aesthetics

The early research on Hong Lou Meng in English world can be traced back to the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. However, the acceptance of HLM in English world was not smooth. From the early miscomprehension of HLM to the objective study in 1960s, the acceptability of HLM has gone through vast changes. And these changes could not be done without the efforts made by translation. In the 1970s, David Hawkes and Yang Hsien-Yi published the full translated versions of HLM in succession, which has made a tremendous influence on its acceptability in English world. Apart from that, as HLM features itself in the refined expressions, such as the poem and the rhymed prose, the HLM has reached the elegance that is beyond any other Chinese novels. Therefore, in this sense, the way to render the poems determines largely the acceptability of HLM in English world.The 60s of 20th century witnessed the up-rising of Reception Aesthetics. Led by Jauss, this philosophical school adhered to the reader-centered principle, and focused on the acceptance of the literary works. In the book Towards an Aesthetics of Reception, Jauss divided the reading process of a poem into three levels, namely the aesthetic reading level, the reflexive reading level, and the historical reading level. In this thesis, these three levels are adopted, and in accordance with this theory, the translation process has been considered to be two continuous reception processes:one is the translator's acceptance (also as a reader) of the source text; and the other is the target readers'acceptance of the target text. Each process contains the three vertical reading levels. This thesis mainly examines the relation between the translation strategies and the poetry acceptability of the two translated versions among TT readers. From the comparison it is testified that Hawkes' version can better meet the TT readers'horizon of expectations and thus can be better accepted. This phenomenon can be partially attributed to the translation strategy of domestication adopted. However, as the transmission of cultural values is one of the important missions of the C/E poetry translation, Hawkes'version displays a relatively serious distortion of some cultural values of the ST, and the translation strategy of foreignization adopted in Yang Hsien-Yi's version is more successful in this regard. Therefore, in order to meet the fusion between the horizon of TT readers'expectations and that of the target text, as well as to achieve maximum readership acceptability, the C/E poetry translation should be predominately guided by the translation strategy of domestication. Meanwhile, it is possible and highly necessary for the adoption of foreignization strategy, especially on treating some implied values of the Chinese traditional poems.The thesis is composed of six parts, including an introduction and five chapters. The first serves as the introduction of research objects, motivation, significance, research methodology, and thesis organization. Chapter one mainly lays the theoretical foundation. Chapter two registers a comparative analysis of two versions in terms of sound and form at the primary reading level of aesthetic reception. Further discussion and comparison on the images and the poetic flavor are carried out in third chapter at the intermediate reading level of reflective reception. In chapter four, the translation of values, thought patterns, and religious beliefs are compared at the advanced reading level of historical-cultural reception. Chapter five serves as the conclusion.