A Study On Lin Wusun’s English Translation Of Sunzi: The Art Of War: An Eco-translatology Perspective

Under the impacts and trends of ecological environment, ecology has achievedmuch popularity in translation studies. With the development of cultural turn andrecognition of the translator’s subjective role, Professor Hu Gengshen published AnApproach to Translation as Adaptation and Selection in2004and then put forwardEco-translatology in2008. This new theory, based on Charles Darwin’s evolutionaryprinciples of “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest”, reexamines translation froma totally new perspective with its core concept being the translation mechanism ofadaptation and selection. According to the theory, translation is a selection activity of atranslator’s adaptation to the translational eco-environment.Sunzi: The Art of War is a masterpiece of Chinese classics with far-reachinginfluences. Due to its deep thought and profound connotation, translation of the work isreally tough and challenging. In the past decades, most of the well-known Englishversions of it were produced by western scholars, and seldom by Chinese. It was not untilthe1980s that Chinese scholars began to translate Sunzi: The Art of War, among whichthe most representative one is by Lin Wusun.By a detailed illustration about the philosophical basis, translationaleco-environment, mechanism of adaptation and selection, the theoretical backup of thisthesis is provided. And then, it reviews relevant studies home and abroad on Sunzi: TheArt of War. Furthermore, with a view to social background of “China’s rise” and “China’sThreat Theory”, the translational eco-environment for Lin’s translation of Sunzi: The Artof War is offered. Lin Wusun, for his bilingual and bicultural competence and hisideological orientation, is selected by such a translational eco-environment. It is finallyfound out that Lin has made good adaptive selections from linguistic, cultural andcommunicative dimensions during the actual translation process, which is the reason whyLin’s version has won huge success. From linguistic dimension, Lin selects properlexical and syntactic strategies. Lin’s adaptive selection from cultural dimension ismainly conducted from his translation of military terms. From communicative dimension,Lin successfully achieves his communicative goals of introducing authentic Chineseculture and clarifying the non-war thought through his adaptive selections. To conclude, the feasibility and explanatory force of Eco-translatology is testifiedby a tentative analysis on Lin’s Sunzi: The Art of War, thus Professor Hu has provided anew perspective for translation studies and translation criticism of Chinese classics in thefuture. Thus, a brand-new Chinese theory is successfully applied in the study oftranslation of Chinese classics. Moreover, the criteria for judging whether a translation isgood or bad are dynamic. One must take all factors of a certain translationaleco-environment into account before criticizing one translation. It is also hoped that thisthesis can attract more translators to apply Eco-translatology in translation activities andscholars to further build Eco-translatology. Finally, other local translation theories shouldbe given more emphasis for the development of domestic academic studies.