A Study On Xu Yuanchong’s C-E Drama Translation Strategies From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

The research focus of literature translation has always been put on the forms such as poem and prose for quite a long time. While the study on drama translation is relatively limited compared with other literature genres. Because of the large number of literature types and the specific features which distinguish one from another, it is impossible for translators to use the same strategy to deal with all the genres of literature translation. As a result, people began the effort on finding suitable translation strategies for drama scripts in order to deal with the problems existing in the process of drama translation.Xu Yuanchong (1921-) is a well-known translator in China, contributing in both translation practice and theoretical study. His translation of Chinese traditional poems is highly acclaimed by the readers at home and abroad, and the research about his poetry translation is numerous. While on the contrary, another part of his translation of Chinese classical dramas is left with few people to care for it. In fact, the accomplishments of Xu Yuanchong are surely not only limited to the translation of poems, his translated drama scripts are of equal excellence and also deserve people’s attention. Reception Aesthetics emphasizes the status of readers. Similarly, drama also regards audience as an important part of the whole performance. Therefore, the thesis will try to apply the ideas of Reception Aesthetic to the studies of Xu Yuanchong’s C-E drama translation strategies in order to find an appropriate translation strategy which is suitable for the practice of drama translation.There are altogether three chapters in the thesis. Chapter One is literature review. It will mainly introduce the definition and features of drama, as well as a general review of drama translation studies both in China and western countries. Chapter Two will explain the main idea of Reception Aesthetics in order to lay the theoretical foundation of the whole thesis. In Chapter Three, the thesis will be made up of two parts. First it will make a brief introduction to Xu Yuanchong, including his ideas and theories about translation and also his accomplishments, then some text analysis will be made by studying Xu Yuanchong’s C-E drama translation strategies from the perspective of Reception Aesthetics. By analyzing the relation between translation strategies and the ideas of "horizon of expectation","fusion of horizons","indeterminacy" and "aesthetic distance", we can find the reasons of Xu Yuanchong’s success in his drama scripts.As a field rarely touched by scholars and other people, drama translation always makes translators confused about the suitable translation strategy they should use in their practice. However, the translation practice of Xu Yuanchong just offers a perfect example for the other translators to learn something from it. In the meantime, with the expectation of arousing more attention to this field, the thesis is written to inspire more and better relevant researches to provide some practicable and theoretical direction to the practice of drama translation in the future.