On Translation Ethics Of Xiong Shiyi-a Case Study Of Lady Precious Stream

Translation activity involves different parties such as the target readers, theaudience, the writer, the translator, the patron, and the commissioner. Thus translators,as the most important party connecting other parties, are in a process of moraldecision-making. They are moral agents mediating the conflicts of various parties. Thetranslational behaviors are under the guidance as well as the restriction of translationethics. Andrew Chesterman proposed five models of translation ethics. They are ethicsof representation, ethics of service, ethics of communication, norm-based ethics andethics of commitment.Deontology and utilitarianism are the basic frameworks of moraldecision-making. Modern Utilitarianism can be divided into two theories: actutilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. The common goal of the two subdivisions is tobring the greatest amount of happiness to most of the people. Rule utilitarianismstresses the importance of rules and regulations in the realization of the goal while actutilitarianism pays attention to acts themselves, in other words, acts are always moralif they can bring greatest amount of happiness to most of people.Xiong Shiyi (also Hsiung S. I.), was one of the noted pioneers in terms of culturalexchanges between China and the West. He translated the classical Peking operaHongzong Liema into an English opera Lady Precious Stream which enjoyed along-lasting popularity throughout Europe and North America. In the process oftranslation, Xiong had met various conflicts. Based on Chesterman’s models, thisthesis will explore Xiong’s translation ethics with Lady Precious Stream as a case study.In addition, the author will apply the philosophical framework to uncover what hadguided Xiong’s moral decision-making in the process.