On Robert Campany’s English Translation Of Traditions Of Divine Transcendents: From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

As an important Chinese Daoism classic written by Ge Hong, Shenxianzhuan records nearly one hundred transcendence stories of immortals, portrays their images, interprets their deeds, and transmits the notion of immortality, which profoundly and vividly displays the Daoism traditions and thoughts in it and therefore plays an essential role in the research of Chinese Daoism culture. Based on different versions of Shenxianzhuan, American sinologist Robert F. Campany comprehensively and systematically translates, interprets and comments the extant contents of this Daoism work in To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth:A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine Transcendents, which makes it the most complete and thorough production in the history of Shenxianzhuan English translation.The reception of texts in translation studies with the translator and reader as the central factors is no doubt a new achievement made by Reception Aesthetics. Studying a work by putting the relation between the text and readers to leading position, Reception Aesthetics fully admits readers’ creative influence on work significance and aesthetic value, and considers that a work can have its meaning only through the reading practice of its readers.Based on Reception Aesthetics, this thesis attempts to survey the translation and study of To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth:A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine Transcendents, analyses the influence and function of receivers in translation practice from the perspective of translators and target language readers, discusses the reception questions of language and culture in Daoism translation process, and indicates the active participation and creation of the original text and translated version by translators and target language readers in the course of translation.Translation is regarded as a significant part in culture transmission, therefore the study on the translation mode, strategy and effect of To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth:A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine Transcendents is beneficial to the knowing of reception situation of traditional Chinese culture abroad, from which experiences and enlightenments of the translation and transmission of traditional Chinese culture can be acquired.