Translation As Adaptation And Selection: A Study On Yan Fu’s Translation Of Tian Yan Lun

Inspired by the ecological wave in the academic circles, Professor Hu Gengshendefines translation as “a translator’s adaptation and selection in a translationaleco-environment”. He further expounds on the translating process in terms ofDarwin’s principle of “natural selection”, and holds that, the translator’s adaptation isselective, and at the mean time, his selection is adaptive. By applying this theory to thepresent thesis, the author finds that the translation process at the macro level is thetranslational eco-environment’s selection of the translator and the target text; whilefrom the translator’s perspective, the translator’s subjectivity is manifested through hisadaptations and selections to both his external and internal needs, his bilingual andbicultural competence, and the linguistic and cultural differences. Within such atheoretical framework, this thesis attempts to provide an overall picture of Yan Fu’stranslating of Tian Yan Lun. Through a sociological and stylistic analysis of Yan Fu’ssource text selection and translation strategies, the author draws the conclusion that thelarge amount of “variations” and “infidelities” in Yan’s version are not wrongtranslations, but a combined result of Yan’s demands, competence and the socialenvironment at his age.