The Translator’s Subjectivity In The English Translations Of Biancheng:a Hermeneutic Perspective

Biancheng, as a classical masterpiece of Chinese rural culture, has great influence on Chinese literature and culture, and it is a masterpiece of Shen Chongwen from the mainland of China. Biancheng is honored as an immortal jewel of both Chinese and World literature. It has been translated into more than30foreign language editions since it was initially published. Nowadays, there are two English versions for Biancheng:The Frontier City co-translated by Jin Di and Robert Payne, and The Border Town translated by Gladys Yang. Due to the original’s richness in literary and cultural value, different translators have different comprehensions and interpretations even for the same text. Because they live in different periods of time and have different social and knowledge backgrounds, they must consider the needs of the society and their implied readers to adopt their suitable translation strategies, which fully manifest the translator’s subjectivity.The translator’s subjectivity has experienced a process from being marginalized to being recognized in the history of translation at home and abroad. In traditional translation theory, the translator’s role hasn’t been ignored and its statue is in a marginalized position. Until1970s "cultural turn" appeared, great importance was attached to the study on the translator’s subjectivity. Then translator’s position was recognized. For a long time, translation researchers concentrated on translation methods, standards, principles, original works and etc, neglecting the translator’s role. But hermeneutics can better interpret the manifestation of the translator’s subjectivity, which can provide a new angle for translation study, not only broadening the field of translation study, but also deepening people’s understanding on the translator.This thesis studies the translator’s subjectivity in the English translations of Biancheng from the perspective of hermeneutics, taking Gadamer’s three principles of philosophical hermeneutics--"prejudice","historicity of understanding" and "fusion of horizon" as theoretical basis. Making a comparative analysis on translator’s subjectivity from selection of the original in preparation stage, the resolution of language and culture in the process of translation and other aspects, the goal of this paper is not to evaluate the advantages or disadvantages between two versions, but to reveals the translator’s subjectivity in the English translation of Biancheng. Different translators as readers have different understandings of the same original text. Translators as interpreters have different solutions to the same linguistic problems. Translators as rewriters have different translation strategies and purposes. To explore Chinese culture to the western readers, Gladys Yang tries to use foreignization translation strategies to make the readers understand the original meaning of Biancheng; while Ching Ti and Robert Payne employ domestication translation strategies to make the western readers easily read and understand the original.