The Study On Goldblatt’s Subjectivity In The English Version Of Shengsi Pilao From The Hermeneutic Perspective

During the past 30 years of reform and opening-up, literary translation in China mainly focuses on absorbing-foreign works being translated into Chinese instead of exporting Chinese literary works, because translation is still a major challenge. In 2012, Mo Yan, the Chinese novelist and short story writer, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. It has not only brought unprecedented confidence to Chinese literature, but shortened the distance between Chinese literature and readers around the world.Howard Goldblatt, a translator that is well acquainted with the Chinese culture, points out that the translation process is seemingly confronted with the differences between languages, while what it really meets with, in essence, is the cultural diversities between nationalities and countries. It is a great challenge to find the proper words from the target language to express the original meaning truly and well, and it is same to the understanding and recognition of the translated works. Problem one is a result engendered by the translator’s faithfulness to the original work, wishing to present readers the authentic version of works as much as possible. The solution to problem two is not fully constrained to the original version by reconstructing it for change and easiness, so that readers could have an easier acceptance and understanding to the work of the target language. These require a full play of translator’s subjectivity. As the main part of translation, it should give high values on the role of the translator’s subjectivity in the translation process. The influential factors, translator’s identities, personal experience, translation strategies and the effect of translation to be achieved, should be given adequate attention.Hermeneutics has prevailed in the translation world after constant improvements by Schleiennacher, Gadamer and Steiner, and many others. The translation theory of Hermeneutics provides new perspectives for interpreting translator’s subjectivity.In this thesis, the English version of Shengsi pilao translated by Howard Goldblatt is taken as the research subject, trying to make an analysis on Goldblatt’s subjectivity in the translation process from the perspective of Hermeneutics. Goldblatt successful translation work Shengsi pilao is worth our thinking:what works that readers favor most? what effects to achieve? what role of translator’s subjectivity is playing? The thesis aims to provide new prospects to the translation of Chinese literary works.