A Study Of English Translation Of Titles Of Chinese Classics From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

China, as an ancient country of over five-thousand-year history, has an excellent traditional cultural heritage which is rich and extensive and a unique national spirit which is great and profound. With the advancement of China’s international status, Chinese culture now is experiencing an in-depth contact with foreign cultures and integrating into the international world gradually.Chinese classics are writings of scholars handing down from ancient times which bear the distinctive moral civilization of Chinese nation. As a concentrated reflection of Chinese culture, Chinese classics are direct carriers of outer world’s accurate understanding of the unique and tenacious vitality of Chinese civilization. The English translation of Chinese classics is a part of Chinese cultural diplomacy, and it is an important way to promote the development of national culture and the global cultural diversity. However, book title is the soul of the book. Translation of book titles is the most direct way of knowing a book. Therefore, the book title translation is a crucial component in the translation of Chinese classics. Appropriate translations of book titles help the works to be exported perfectly and disseminated globally. Moreover, it can arouse foreigners’interest of learning more about China and Chinese culture. Hence, how to achieve a better effect in the translation of titles of Chinese classics is a key issue that researchers and translators continue to explore. This thesis is trying to find out the translation strategies and summarize the effective translation methods of titles of Chinese classics under the guidance of Skopos Theory.Skopos Theory, the core of German functionalism, was raised in1978by Han J. Vermeer, a scholar of German functionalist translation theory. According to Skopos Theory, translation is an activity with a specific purpose as well as an intentional communication of different cultures. This theory shows that the major task of translation is to fulfill materialization of functions that the target text intended to realize in target culture. Skopos Theory stresses the aim of translation, functions of target text, addressees’communicative situation, and gives translators more initiative and freedom. Vermeer points out that Skopos Theory consists of three rules:the skopos rule, the coherence rule and the fidelity rule. In the light of Skopos Theory, this study believes that translation of titles of Chinese classics is a strong goal-oriented action which includes the analysis of titles of Chinese classics and the consideration of the cultural and context influence. These factors all determine translators’ choices of translation methods.The thesis is made up of five chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction including the background, the significance and objectives of the study, the research methodology as well as the structure of the thesis. In Chapter Two, this thesis casts a reviewing glance at Chinese classics including the definition, natures and the significance of Chinese classics. And then the author makes a general study of titles of Chinese classics which covers the naming methods, features and functions. The third section is the previous studies on translation of titles of Chinese classics at home and abroad. Chapter Three is designed for Skopos Theory, the theoretical framework of this thesis. It firstly introduces stages of Skopos Theory and the definition of Skopos, and then it presents the main concepts and merits of Skopos Theory. The last section of this chapter is about Skopos Theory and translation of titles of Chinese classics. Chapter Four is the main portion of the thesis, and the translation of titles of Chinese classics is analyzed in detail under the framework of Skopos Theory. In the first part, problems in translation of titles of Chinese classics are summarized. In the second part, this thesis discusses the criteria that should be considered in the translation. The third part is the application of the three rules to translation of titles of Chinese classics. In the fourth part, the author probes into suggested strategies for translation of titles of Chinese classics. Chapter Five is the conclusion including the major findings, implications of the study from both the theoretical and practical aspects, the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.