Eco-translatological Study Of Pearl S. Buck’s And Sidney Shapiro’s Translations Of Shui Hu Zhuan

In2004, Hu Gengshen introduced Darwin’s principle of “natural selection” and “survival ofthe fittest” to translation studies, he proposed “translation as adaptation and selection”. Later, in2008, Hu Gengshen further put forward “eco-translatology”, thus carries the theory forward withendless vigor. The two notions are inseparable for “translation as adaptation and selection” is thefundamental theory of eco-translatology. Eco-translatology focuses on the mutual relationshipbetween translation participants and translational eco-environment. It can be regarded astranslation studies from an ecological perspective or an ecological approach to translation studiesAccording to eco-translatology, translation is defined as a selection activity of the translator’sadaptation to fit the translational eco-environment. As an emerging theory, eco-translatologybrings a new perspective into translation studies. It puts translator into a central position andtakes all the essential factors of translation into account, such as the source text, readers, client,translator’s background and so on. Therefore, eco-translatology offers a new and comprehensiveinterpretation to translator, translation method, and translation process.Shui Hu Zhuan, one of the four famous Chinese classics, has been translated into manydifferent languages. With respect to its English translations, there are mainly four Englishversions, among which the most important and influential ones are All Men are Brothers (1933)translated by Pearl S. Buck and Outlaws of the Marsh (1980), by Sidney Shapiro. Since the twoauthoritative versions came into being, articles and researches on them have been coming in asteady trend. Given the distinct variations in the two versions, the author attempts to explore themanifestation of the translator’s adaptation and selection through a comparative study of the twotranslators and their versions in detail, with the purpose of unearthing the reasons for theirdifferences from the angle of eco-translatology.This thesis consists of five parts: the first chapter is introduction, in which the background,research purpose, research questions, methodology and data collection as well as the layout ofthe research are mentioned. The second part is a review of the previous studies on. In this chapter,previous studies on Pearl S. Buck and Sidney Shapiro with their versions are discussed. The thirdpart is the theoretical framework of the research. The author presented a detailed introduction ofeco-translatology theory: the origin, background, basic concepts and the prevailing viewpoints ofit. Chapter four is the most important part of this thesis. The author took Hu Gengshen’s theoryas a tool, while took Pearl and Shapiro with their versions as the object, to analysis how Pearland Shapiro, as the representative elements of eco-environment, chose to adapt to thetranslational eco-environments and make adaptive selections. At last, an evaluation method is provided. The last chapter is the conclusion. In spite of some limitations, this thesis carriestheoretical and practical significance. Firstly, eco-translatology can be implemented inapplication. Secondly, it provides a new perspective to the study of English versions of Shui HuZhuan. This thesis is a supplement to the study of All Men are Brothers and Outlaws of theMarsh as well as their respective translator. At the same time, it can be taken as a case study toprove the feasibility of eco-translatology.