A Hermeneutic Explanation To Two English Versions Of Tao Te Ching

As the fundamental work of Taoism, Tao Te Ching not only plays a critical rolein Chinese philosophical history, but also draws many scholars’ research interest in theWestern world. Since the appearance of its first English version in1868, Tao Te Chinghas been translated into different languages by various scholars, translators andphilosophers, etc. of different cultural backgrounds in different times.In the1950s, with the turn of the study paradigm from prescriptive todescriptive, the concern of translation studies shifts to the objective description oftranslations, treating them as cultural and historical facts and phenomena.Hermeneutics was introduced into China in the1980s. Though there have beennumerous studies on the translation of Tao Te Ching, the studies from hermeneuticperspective are limited. The purpose of the thesis is not to judge the quality of thetranslations but to make a descriptive study on the two versions by Roger T. Ames andLin Yutang respectively with the help of the two concepts of hermeneutics: historicityof understanding, fusion of horizons, and explore the reasons for the diversity of thetranslations of Tao Te Ching. After comparing the two translations, it is found that thedifferences between their translations are caused by and the manifestation of thespecific historical periods and the cultural backgrounds of them. In the translatingprocess, the translators’ prejudices and horizons, and historicity of understandingcontribute to the many differences between the two English versions. It is proved thatthe diversity of the translations of Tao Te Ching is not only inevitable but alsonecessary. The author hopes that the thesis can arouse the interest of more translatorsand scholars, and they will make an objective description of a translation on the basisof the specific historical and cultural background of the translator.