On Lin Shu's Translation Of David Copperfield From The Perspective Of Skopostheorie

In the circle of translation, Lin Shu's translation has been controversial for a long time. As his representative work, Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, the Chinese version of David Copperfield, has long been considered as a typical example of unfaithful translation. However, in spite of mistranslations, it was accorded a warm welcome among the Chinese readers then, which greatly challenged the traditional translation studies advocating faithful translation. Obviously, the neglect of the importance of skopos and requirements of TL readers in translation results in unconvincing explanations given by traditional translation studies for Lin Shu's translation. However, the emergence of Skopostheorie could well justify Lin Shu's translation.Free from the yoke of the traditional translation theories, this thesis focuses on Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, Lin Shu's translation of David Copperfield, aiming at demonstrating how Lin Shu successfully translated David Copperfield under the manipulation of political and ideological situation in light of Skopostheorie, and in the meantime, demonstrating the practicability of Skopostheorie in literary translation.First of all, on the basis of introduction to Skopostheorie, the thesis probes into its application to literary translation with the key concepts of Skopotheorie. Then a comparative study between David Copperfield and different Chinese versions is made to find out the reasons for Lin Shu's characteristic translation with a conclusion that Lin Shu's skopos justifies his translation. Thirdly, based on the analysis of the political and poeticological influence on Lin Shu's Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, the thesis continues to analyze his translation, the translation of foreign concepts in particular, in terms of three rules of Skopostheorie. And finally a conclusion is drawn that Lin Shu's adoption of adaptation, omission and addition in his Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu is determined by his skopos and consideration for Chinese readers'reading demands. What's more, the main poetics also ensures the acceptability of Lin Shu's version of David Copperfield. Through a systematic study of Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu, the study finds out:Lin Shu's skopos, influenced by the social and political situation at that time, justifies his translation strategies. By employing these translation strategies, Lin Shu turns out to be a paragon of many translators. In addition, his version of David Copperfield is also a great success, which can also be proved by the Chinese readers'appreciation of his version. On the other hand, the success of his Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu attests to the feasibility of Skopostheorie in literary translation.