On Cultural Default And The Reconstruction Of Coherence In C-E Translation Of Chinese Classics

As one of the important concepts in cultural translation studies, cultural default is initially put forward by a Chinese scholar, for which international translation academia is in lack of recognition. In the gradually prosperous wake of the overseas spread of Chinese culture, this phenomenon that focuses on textual coherence and reader reception has attracted more attention from home and abroad.In practical researches, however, many researchers have not settled a clear borderline for cultural default and other cultural translation studies such as culture-specific items, leading to the fuzziness and confusion of research object. Cultural default is the intended omission of cultural information for readers sharing similar or same cultural background with the author. Words and expressions in Chinese classics are usually concise yet connotative. Through constant interpretation of translators and readers, the default items in the classics are expected to be coherently reconstructed. Consequently, for a classic, studies on the categories of its cultural default, methods of reconstruction of coherence and the reasons behind translators’ choices from the perspective of textual coherence are referential and valuable for observing cultural default, and discussing strategies of reconstruction of coherence and their influences on cultural transmission.A Chinese classic as it is, Shiji is abundant in cultural connotation. Among the existing translations, the three versions respectively rendered by Burton Waston, William H. Nienhauser, Jr. and Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang are the most authoritative ones. Because of the rich content of Shiji, all the three translations have rearranged the original order, which brings challenges for the comparative study. Consequently, few English researchers have touched upon the English translations of Shiji and relevant translation studies. The thesis attempts to address these questions with an empirical approach, which reflects important theoretical significance and practical value.The research first generally introduces the foreign and Chinese studies on cultural default, textual coherence, relationship between cultural default and reconstruction of coherence, and the English translations of Shiji. Then based on the cultural default concept proposed by Wang Dongfeng and also theoretically supported by textual coherence theory, the thesis selects three chapters from Shiji and uses cultural defaults in the Nienhauser’s version and the Yangs’ version as research objects. By statistical analysis and case studies, the thesis analyzes the distribution trend of cultural default, relationship between cultural default and reconstruction methods and strategies employed for reconstruction of coherence and factors influencing translators’ choices, in the hope of providing references for studies in cultural default and reconstruction of coherence in C-E translation of Chinese historical classics.Research findings are summarized thereby:1) The study on word-level cultural default shall lay emphasis on semantic,contextual and cultural reconstruction of coherence. In the three chaptersselected from Shiji, the default items mainly distribute in names(33.7%),geographic names(34.5%) and social items(18.8%).2) Nine reconstruction methods have been taken by NV and YV. Both translationsare highly foreignized(NV: 67.6%; YV: 68.2%), mainly because of the hugepercentage of names and locations. Comparatively, NV is more flexible atemploying different reconstruction methods, which renders a morecomprehensively coherent translation. YV is often culturally incoherent, but itstill meets common reader’s expectation to some extent for its plainness andconciseness.3) Translators’ choices are influenced by many factors. For NV and YV, the mostdistinct factors are sponsors, historical factors, and translators’ cultural identityand background.4) Reconstruction of coherence will never be a mission accomplished. Futuretranslators shall also refer to studies such as this thesis, so as to meet theexpectation of target readers in a more coherent, readable and acceptable way.