Retranslation Of Literary Works From The Perspective Of Hermeneutics—A Comparative Study On Two Chinese Versions Of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a masterpiece written by American author F. S. Fitzgerald, and so far it has been translated into many different Chinese versions, among which the translator Wu N ingkun?s version receives the most extensive attention. In 2013, a newest Chinese version of the Great Gatsby retranslated by Li Jihong has provoked heated disputes among readers in that the version is entitled “the best Chinese version” on its cover. Most reviews on Li?s version lack theoretical basis. The thinking on ho w to see the value of Li?s version becomes the starting point of this research.Hermeneutics is a theory that explores the understanding and interpretation of meaning. Gadamer ?s philosophical hermeneutics put forward the notions such as “prejudice”, “fusion of horizons” and “effective history”, challenging the supreme position of the original intention of the author in traditional translation theories and therefore providing new perspectives and inspiration for translation studies, especially literary retranslation studies. This thesis is a case study on literary retranslation works under the theoretical guidance of Gadamer ?s philosophical hermeneutics. The research questions of this thesis are: what are the differences between Wu N ingkun?s version of the Great Gatsby and Li Jihong?s version, why would there be such differences and how to review the value of Li Jihong?s retranslation based on the multi- criteria of retranslation inspired by philosophical hermeneutics?Methodologically, the thesis selects examples from two C hinese versions of the Great Gatsby by means of descriptive research and comparative study. Comparison and analysis of the collected examples are made from the perspective of Gadamer ?s philosophical hermeneutics to elaborate the differences between the two versions and demonstrate the theoretical guidance of philosophical hermeneutics on literary retranslation. In the end, the multi-criteria of retranslation based on hermeneutic theories will be taken into consideration to justify the value o f the new version of the Great Gatsby.The conclusions of this study are as follows: philosophical hermeneutics provides a new angle for the rationality of literary retranslation; the new version of the Great Gatsby differs from the old version in choices of words, language style and the interpretation of the textual meaning; based on the principles of philosophical hermeneutics, there is no unified standard in literary retranslation; the openness of the textual meaning, the translator ?s subjectivity and the reader?s acceptance contribute to the multi-criteria of literary retranslation. From the perspective of hermeneutics, the new version of the Great Gatsby has its value in that it extends the influence of the original work on readers in a different historical period.