Research On "harmonious Unity Of Man And Nature" And Neo-constructivist Cognition Of Translation Paradigm

This thesis attempts to put the traditional Chinese philosophical thinking paradigm天人合一("Harmonious Unity of Man and Nature", hereinafter referred to as HUMN) in the framework of translation studies, with the aim to look for novel cognitions of the process and goal of translation activities, and consequently to provide some guidance for translational abstract theories and practical activities. With comparison and compromise between oriental-featured thinking paradigm represented by"subject-object interaction","binary integration", and"harmonious unity", and Constructivist cognition which has emerged and developed after Structivism and Deconstructivism in the western academic field, this thesis tries to construct a unitary and poetic intellectual cognitive system that dialectically combines both Chinese and western thinking elements into a new-brand term, that is HUMN of the Neo-Constructivist cognition of translation paradigm. On the one hand, this thesis is to consider and evaluate the western abstract thinking mode featuring with"subject-object dichotomy"and scientific positivism; and on the other hand, it emphasizes and confirms the traditional Chinese poetic thinking mode pursuing harmony, balance and integration. The construction of the translational thinking paradigm of HUMN is to endow translation theoretical studies with a multi-dimensional angle and a fundamental keynote of fusing the rational analysis with perceptual cognition, as well as to provide translation activities with a novel analytical method and an evaluation criterion, both of which possess more cultural characteristics and life significances.Against the background of the western philosophy, the western translation studies regard the translator as a dominant part to be totally isolated and opposite to the whole translation activities, as well as take translation activities as an object that the translator can control and manipulate at his or her will. It is the cognition that places the subject against all the relationships and elements in translation activities, and reflects its spiritual core and thinking basis of"subject-object dichotomy". On the contrary, the traditional Chinese philosophy abandons the absolute spirits and antithetical ideas, and seeks for a taste of the poetic perception and speculative thinking capability. Influenced by such a kind of mental atmosphere for thousands of years,"interaction","integration", and the holistic relationship of the subject and object have laid a solid basis for Chinese people's philosophical thinking mode. In the framework of translation, the cognition of HUMN takes the translator as a subject and meanwhile interacts dynamically with other interpretational relationships and elements in a whole intellectual system. This cognition has placed the translator in a multi-dimensional cognitive system, in which he or she cooperates and interacts with other elements in the process of gaining the best understanding and representation of the original meaning.天("Nature") here stands for the confirmation of meta-meaning of the original text and authoritative position of the original author, and the constants of the meta-meaning as well;人("man") represents the translator, who is the subject of the interpretation activity.天and人are taken as a inseparable whole, neither of which can be regarded as a subject to manipulate and control the other.合("harmonious process of integration") means the ideal process of translation activity, in which the translator succeeds in creating a translated work that exhibits nearly all the beauties and taste of the original text and simultaneously enhance the perfection of itself.一("oneness"or"unity") shows the final and perfect integration between the original text, the author, the translator and the translated version. It is the idealist state or stratum of various relationships and elements embodied that the translated version becomes the best illumination and reflection of the original text and the author through the translator's great efforts and inspirations. Therefore, HUMN is provided with the Constructivist feature in comprehending subjectivity in translation activities.The author holds that how to select proper translation strategies is a knotty problem in translation studies. Thus, the author attempts to construct an intellectual system, which is nominated as"Neo-Constructivism"in this thesis, to guide theoretical research and practical activities through the bold connection of the traditional Chinese philosophical thinking mode of HUMN and Constructivist cognition that originally emerged in the western academic field.Since HUMN in the framework of Neo-Constructivism is a brand-new intellectual system constructed in this thesis, the author is to theoretically consummate it by selectively extracting and illustrating some theory, some statement or some concept in either Chinese or western philosophy, linguistics, phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and Translatology. In detail, the author is to use the traditional Chinese philosophical paradigm of"Intergration of the Tao and Imagery"as well as Qian Zhongshu's illustration of"Sublimation"to rationalize the translator's loyalty and creativity to the original text; and then to adapt Gadamer's"Fusion of Horizons", Habermas'"Theory of Communication", and Husserl's phenomenological construction of"Transcendentality"and"Intentionality"to illustrate the interactive relationship between the translator's and author's horizons, explain the ultimacy in translation, and to construct a dynamic and open system of translation respectively. In analysis, the author is to seek for the similar basis of HUMN and the above theoretical points to better the research in this thesis.Translatology shoulders the significant responsibility of culture transmission and exchange. This thesis analyzes both Chinese and western philosophical thinking paradigms objectively, trying to construct a translation paradigm that absorb the strong points of the two, to enlighten the following researchers and to better Chinese translation studies.