A Comparative Study On Two English Verions Of Shijing

Throughout the history of Chinese and Western translation, the translator has always been put in a marginal place while translation studies focus on the the original author and the source text. The translator is required to be loyal to the original work and the original author, so as to play a transparent role rather than an active one in the translation process. The importance of the translator has not been realized until the appearance of cultural turn in translation studies. Since then the subjective position of the translator has been established and the subjective study of translation is also gradually deepened.Shijing, the earliest anthology of poetry in China, is regarded as one of the most precious world’s literature heritage. It remains one of the immortal Chinese classics over thousands of years. Due to its important historical and cultural status, Shijing has been translated into many English versions since18th century, among which British sinologist James Legge’s version and Chinese translator Xu Yuanchong’s version are both highly representative. Therefore, the thesis selects these two versions for comparison, aiming to explore the differences and their causes in the translation process of Shijing from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity.According to the historical review and current research condition of the subjective study in translation, the thesis proceeds from the position of the translator in the traditional translation studies, continued by the analysis of the appearing and the rise of translator’s subjectivity, and the elaboration on the connotation of translator’s subjectivity and its significance. Then the thesis describes the structure and the traditional classification of Shijing, and briefly discusses some famous versions in the historical overview of the English Translation of Shijing. As for the selected two versions, their translators’ background and translation theories are summarized. Afterwards, applying with the theory of translator’s subjectivity, the thesis makes the comparison of the two versions, mainly from three aspects of translator’s translation purposes and target readers, translator’s translation environment and process, and the translator’s manipulation of words and language form, illustrating the manifestation of translator’s subjectivity in these two versions.At last, the thesis concludes that translator’s subjective role can not be ignored in translation activities because the subjectivity is displayed by the translator and is reflected in the entire translation process. As the bridge between the original author and the target reader, the translator is the most active and dynamic factor in the translation process. The manifestation of translator’s subjectivity is creative, so that different versions of translation with unique features are formed under the influence of the translator’s subjectivity. Thus, in order to achieve a better translation effect, the translator’s subjectivity should be brought into full play.