A Study On George Kao As A Translator

George Kao高克毅(1912-2008, pen name乔志高),a writer, translator, editor and journalist, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and raised in Shanghai. He was a graduate of Yenching University and held master’s degrees in Journalism and International Relations from the University of Missouri and Columbia University respectively. He worked as a journalist and editor in both Chinese and English and served for many years as an editor at the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. He translated American classics into Chinese The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe and Long Day’s Journey into Night by Engene O’Neill. After his retirement from the Voice of America in1972, Mr. Kao was appointed visiting senior fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. There, he founded and served as the first editor and editor-in-chief of Renditions, a journal devoted to translating classical and contemporary Chinese literature into English. He returned to Kensington, Maryland in1980.Because of the recognized achievements of Kao, it is both important and necessary to make a comprehensive and systematic study on him and his works. However, there seems to be almost no full-length study. Information concerning Kao’s life is scattered and found mainly in his writings, and criticism and research on Kao as a translator and his translation are inadequate and unsystematic. This thesis attempts to carry out a systematic and comprehensive study on George Kao as a translator. By collecting and organizing Kao’s personal accounts in his writings, as well as accounts in other scholar’s writings and interviews recorded, this thesis surveys the life and works of Kao and sums up his translation thoughts and practice, with a comparison with Chinese and western translation theory. Through the case study of Kao’s representative translated work The Great Gatsby, the thesis analyzes and discusses the features and style of Kao’s translation and how his translation thoughts are embodied in his translation. This thesis consists of six chapters. It starts with the introduction which presents the background, purpose and significance of the research and the structure of the thesis. Chapter Two introduces the previous studies on George Kao and his translation theory and practice and points out the limitations of the previous studies. Chapter Three gives a survey of George Kao’s life, his translation career and translated works. Chapter Four compares George Kao’s views concerning translation with Chinese and Western translation theories so that we can have a clear understanding of Kao’s views. And it will be a theoretical basis to comment on Kao’s translations. Chapter Five makes an analysis of his representative translation of an American classic The Great Gatsby, through a comparison of another version, and discusses the features of Kao’s version. The last chapter is conclusions which concludes the findings, points out the limitations of the present study and makes suggestions for the further research.