A Study Of Translation Variation In Yan Fu’s Tian Yan Lun From The Perspective Of Lefevere’s Rewriting Theory

Traditionally speaking, Western translation scholars tended to hold a prescriptive and binary view of translation, taking "faithfulness"/"unfaithfulness" and "equivalence"/"non-equivalence" as the universal standards for translation study. In the1990s, with the emergence of "culture turn" in translation studies, Scholars like Lefevere proposed to study translation from a cultural perspective and he also put forth a new concept "Rewriting" according to which translation is considered a rewriting of the original and the translating process, from the selection of materials to translate to the choice of translation strategies, is manipulated by several cultural elements, such as ideology, poetics, etc..As to the situation in China, the debate of "foreignization" and "domestication" had been the focus of translation study, focusing on the conflict between form("文") and content("质"). The discussion of Yan Fu’s translation thought and translation practice was no exception. Nowadays, a rereading of Yan Fu’s translation and rethinking of his translating thought were suggested by some scholars and his Dazhishu was reinterpreted as Translation Variation by some which is now considered as not a betrayal of his own thought but functioning to serve his purpose of reaching the latter, namely,"Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance". To further research the relation between the two, the present study is conducted with a descriptive and interpretative method in this respect.Tian Yan Lun, acknowledged as one of Yan Fu’s famous translations, became quite influential since its production. The adoption of translation variation strategies in Yan Fu’s Tian Yan Lun made this work permeated with the translator’s ideology and poetics. For many years Yan Fu had met with severe criticism of his inconsistency in his thought and practice. And some took Elegance as the first and foremost cause of "unfaithfulness" in his translation. As to the translation variation strategies adopted in his translation, further study is needed. The present thesis aims to explore what translation variation strategies are used in Yan Fu’s Tian Yan Lun and why they are used.Two hundred and ninety two examples are collected in the present study. Through a qualitative and contrastive study, the present research finds that five translation variation strategies are adopted in Yan Fu’s Tian Yan Lun, and Yan Fu held a macroscopic view of the original and the unit of translation is broadened to include sentence group, paragraph and passage. Though adapted in such way, the information contained in the original is not reduced but added thus Yan Fu’s purpose to introduce the theory of evolution is also realized. Therefore, in evaluating a piece of translation, our horizon shouldn’t just be confined to the equivalence at word or sentence level but rather extended to the communication of information in the source text and the translator’s purpose in the translating process.Descriptive and interpretative methods are also used in the present research to explore why Yan Fu adopted translation variation strategies in Tian Yan Lun. Through a contrastive study of the complete translation of Evolution and Ethics and Tian Yan Lun, the present study reveals that the following factors contribute to Yan Fu’s choice of translation variation strategies:ideology, poetics, readers’expectation and the translator’s purpose, ect..It’s also found that the translation variation strategies adopted in Tian Yan Lun served to realize Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance, the aesthetical standards the translator set for his translation. From a linguistic aspect, the final goal for translation variation is "Expressiveness" which in turn is meant for "Faithfulness". And to better realize these two requirements, Yan Fu exerted great efforts to ensure "elegance" in his translation which is the utmost aesthetical standard the translator set for himself. And from a cultural perspective, Yan Fu reflected traditional Chinese culture through the introduction of Western culture, displaying the social function of translation to realize cultural communication and cultural integration. Thus we are reminded to return to our own culture in the importation of Western culture in opposition to cultural hegemonism.To sum up, the present research concludes that the relation between "Faithfulness, Expressiveness and Elegance" and "Translation Variation" is that the former is translation thought while the latter is translation strategy, produced under the guide of the former. This offers a perfect approach to the everlasting conflict between form and content. As to Yan Fu’s translation, an objective attitude is required to treat his translation thought and translation practice with a macroscopic point of view. In addition, cultural factors are crucial in evaluating a piece of translation as language and culture make an organic whole.The translation variation strategies adopted in Yan Fu’s translation are quite inspiring in the translation study and translation practice today. On the one hand, we should study translation with a macroscopic mind taking into consideration the translator’s purpose, his translation thought and the cultural background of his translation practice rather than only focus on the gain and loss taking place in the translation of a word or sentence. In importing foreign culture, selection is critical in opposition to cultural hegemonism and effective use of information is also critical in such a fast developing world.This study consists of six chapters. Chapter Ⅰ is the introductory part. Chapter Ⅱ is literature review. Chapter Ⅲ is the introduction of research materials and methodology. Chapter Ⅳ is the body part of this study in which the translation variation strategies adopted by Yan Fu are discussed, including addition, deletion, compiling, translation and narration and adaptation. Chapter Ⅴ discusses the manipulation of ideology, poetics and other factors that motivated Yan Fu to use translation variation strategies in his translation and the aesthetics contained in his translation thought. Chapter Ⅵ reveals the findings of this study and the limitations of it.