A Study Of The Translation Of Psalms: Sheng Yong Yi Yi-- From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

The Bible is the essential classic work of Christianity, which as the ideological foundation of western culture is often described as “the greatest book ever written”. Since middle Ages, the Bible has been permeable into every social aspect playing the pillar in occidental civilization, which wins an attitude of matchless influence on human spirits. While people take the Bible more often as a religious sacred book other than a literary one, therefore most of its cultural-literary value has been over-viewed. The Bible is a great work with enormous historical, cultural and literary value. Bible translation is the first and the foremost event of religious institutions in the world and the study on it also boasts a long history. Bible translation in Chinese particularly of which the literary-oriented translation stands as a vital part earns to study. Since the Bible is such a monumental work with enormous values, its translation project is doomed to be the first and foremost matter in religious history, on which the history of studying has been long. Chinese Bible translation featured with its literary tradition is worthy of great attention.The Book of Psalms breeding extraordinary emotion and grand desire,meanwhile incisively portraying the deep thoughts and uncertainty of human beings,its poems are taken as the summit of lyric poems compared with the other excellent lyrics in history either in ways of expression or in expression effects.This thesis is a study of John Wu Ching-hsiung’s Chinese translation of the Psalms:Sheng Yong Yi Yi(《圣�'�译义》),from the perspective of Manipulation Theory,in the purpose of first demonstrating the literary value of Sheng Yong Yi Yi and second analyzing manipulations in Wu’s translation work.On the foundation of Manipulation Theory the author makes a thorough analysis on the Wu’s translation work Sheng Yong Yi Yi. Primarily, to probe into the dominant ideology, the producing background and motivation of translator John Wu Ching-hsiung are studied. After analyzing the general national social conditions it uncovers that it is to cater for the general demand at that particular history stage that Wu chose to translate the Psalms. Beside, text analysis also reveals that the translation strategies the translator adopted in his translation work are dominated by Chinese cultural ideology, including characteristic titles as well as manifold rhetoric skills and so on.In addition, Chinese poetics tradition also has a profound influence on the translator in that he reproduced the original text in English prose style into Chinese verse style. Furthermore, Wu paid close attention to rhymes. Therefore, his translation work is of well structure and beauty of phonology.Last but not least patronage also plays an important role in Wu’s translation. Mr. Chiang Kai-shek contributed a lot of suggestions to refine the work. Meanwhile, Chiang offered full financial support for the publication, which finally won a large outpouring of favorable comments.Meanwhile, the author also employs comparison in her analysis of Wu’s translation, especially with the most popular Chinese version among Roman Catholics in China translated by Father Gabriele Allegra of Studium Biblicum Hong Kong(a bible society not affiliated with the United Bible Societies) and asserts that the literary value together with aesthetical value of Sheng Yong Yi Yi translated by John Wu Ching-hsiung is proved to be head and shoulders above other translation versions. This is in virtue of the three typical kinds of manipulations: the unique dominant domestic ideology, Chinese poetics tradition--translating verse to verse and the influence of sponsor of Mr. Chiang, which is just in coincidence with the initial hypothesis.