On The Translator’s Subjectivity In David Hawkes’Translation Of Hongloumeng

As the subject of translation activity and an important participant in the construction of a national culture, the translator and his subjectivity have long been neglected in the traditional translation studies. With the "culture turn" in the translation studies, the scope of translation studies has been widened. The translation studies have been no longer confined to the pure linguistic analysis. The subjective role that the translator plays in translation activity is increasingly attached importance to and the translator’s subjectivity has gradually become one of the hot issues in the translation field.Based on the findings of the previous studies on the translator’s subjectivity, the author of this thesis approaches this theory in combination with a case study of Hawkes’translating of Hongloumeng. Hongloumeng, one of the four great Chinese classical novels, has excellent artistic achievements. It is said to be an encyclopedia of Chinese culture, for it embodies almost every aspect of Chinese culture. Translating this masterpiece remains great challenge for translators. So far, Hongloumeng has been translated into different languages and there are more than20translated versions of it. Among them, The Story of the Stone, the English version translated by British sinologist David Hawkes, is generally accepted as one of the best. And the success of Hawke’s English version can not be separated from the appropriate exertion of his subjectivity.By analyzing the activities in the whole process of Hawkes’translating of Hongloumeng, this thesis probes the vital position of the translator and explores the manifestation of his subjectivity in the translation activity. As the subject of translation, Hawkes is the most crucial and active role in the whole translating process. His subjectivity objectively exists and runs through every step of his translation. Hawkes, in the light of his subjective factors, such as personal preference, translation purpose, cultural orientation, reader awareness, etc., inevitably exerts his initiative and creativity in his selection of the source text, his comprehension of the source text, his choice of the main translation strategy, his creation of the translated text and his arrangement for the style of his version. Initiative and creativity are key characteristics of the translator’s subjectivity. The constant exertion of them makes the literary translation become a kind of recreation. Nevertheless, we should hold a dialectical attitude towards the translator’subjectivity. The translator’s subjectivity is by no means arbitrary but restricted by various objective factors. This thesis makes a tentative analysis of four main objective constraints on the translator’s subjectivity, pointing out that only the translator gives play to his subjective initiative under various objective constraints can he create a really successful target text. Owing an appropriate understanding of the constraints on the exertion of his subjectivity, Hawkes, through his efforts, strikes a balance between these constraints and his own subjective initiative and successfully creates an enduring classic translated work.This thesis conducts such tentative study on the translator’s subjectivity in David Hawkes’English translation of Hongloumeng, aiming to achieve a deeper understanding of the role the translator plays in the translation activity as well as his subjectivity. The author of this thesis hopes that the findings of this present study can make some contributions to the studies on the translator’s subjectivity in translation studies. In addition, the author also expects that the present study can help the translator’s translating performance get more objective comments. Accordingly, more people will be inspired to pursue the translation of Chinese classic works, which will do some good to C-E translation practice and theory, and also will be beneficial for the spread of Chinese culture to the world.