On The "Thick Translation" Approach In James Legge’s The Chinese Classics

James Legge (1815-1897), the missionary of the London Missionary Society and famous sinologist, systematically translated the Chinese Confucian classics and gained such achievements that by far no one has surpassed him. Legge as well as his The Chinese Classics has always been a heated topic for numerous Chinese and overseas scholars, some of whom have noticed Legge’s "thick translation" approach adopted in The Chinese Classics and admitted that this approach contributes a lot to the success of Legge’s translation. However, not much in-depth research in this respect has been done.Nowadays, using for reference and absorbing academic resources from other disciplines has become a general tendency in translation studies. Therefore, on the basis of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, this thesis attempts to investigate the "thick translation" approach in The Chinese Classics from a sociological perspective.Habermas defines communicative action as "the interaction of at least two subjects capable of speech and action who establish interpersonal relations by verbal means". The actors seek to reach an understanding about the action situation and their plans to action in order to coordinate their actions by way of agreement. Such action is related simultaneously to the objective world, the social world and the subjective world. Furthermore, rational communicative action involves four validity claims:comprehensibility, truth, Tightness, and truthfulness.In view of this theory, taking The Shoo King in The Chinese Classics as a main case, this thesis adopts the methodology of descriptive translation studies to analyze the "thick translation" approach in terms of its manifestations and functions. Legge’s thick translation mainly consists of the preface to each volume, the prolegomena, the original Chinese text, the exegetical notes and indexes, which are added to the translation proper. On the other hand, the functions of the thick translation are introducing the translation motive, the translation principle, the history, status, writer or compiler of the original classics, explaining the cultural significance, and offering the translator’s commentaries. Then according to the four validity claims of rational communicative action, this thesis discusses how the "thick translation" approach contributes to the rationality of Legge’s translation action and draws the conclusion that this approach can bring about rational translation action and help achieve mutual understanding and communication between different cultures.To sum up, in the light of the theory of communicative action, the thesis attempts to check the adoption of the "thick translation" approach in translating Confucian classics, in the hope that the research can make theoretical investigations into the approach and provide reference for the present retranslation of Confucian classics and for the dissemination of Chinese culture in the world.