On Translator’s Subjectivity From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

Thanks to the “cultural turn” in the 1970 s, more and more attention has been given to the subjectivity of translation, thus leading to the formation of target language-oriented cultural translation theories. Reception Aesthetics shifts its focus from the author and text to the reader and stresses the role of the reader, putting forward such concepts as “horizon of expectations” “fusion of horizons” and “blank” etc., which throw light upon the translation studies, particularly upon the translator’s subjectivity. As is known to all, translation can be divided into two processes: one is the process of understanding in which the translator serves as the receptor of the source text; the other is the process of interpreting in which the translator serves as the creator of the target text. As the receptor of the source text, the translator will bring his/her “horizon of expectations” into play to understand the “blanks” in the source text so as to achieve the first “fusion of horizons” with the source text. In addition, faced with multiple choices, the translator tends to select the translated text which is in line with his/her own “horizon of expectations,” which expresses the translator’s subjectivity. As the creator of the target text, the translator should take the target reader’s “directed expectation” and “creative expectation” into consideration, and decide on what translation strategy should be adopted to translate the “blanks” in the source text into the target language so as to achieve the second “fusion of horizons” with the target language reader. The translator’s subjectivity is fully embodied in the process of understanding and interpreting.Featured by natural style, plain language, rich images, beautiful artistic realms and flexible verves, Tao Yuanming’s works are shining stars in the ancient Chinese classics, which is why translators both at home and abroad commit themselves to translating Tao Yuanming’s works to the Western countries so that the Western readers can appreciate the charm of the ancient Chinese poetry. Based on doing the field research of Tao Yuanming’s hometown, reading a lot of documents relevant to Tao Yuanming’s works and making comparative studies of different English versions of Tao Yuanming’s works, Professor Wang Rongpei translates The Complete Works of Tao Yuanming. Sticking to his translation principle “spirit-oriented conveyance of meaning,” Professor Wang not only translates the meaning of Tao Yuanming’s works, but also transmits the form of the poetry, i.e. “verse-for-verse translation.”This thesis will analyze the influences of Professor Wang’s “horizon of expectations” such as his life experiences, cultural consciousness, lingual ability and translation principle etc. on his translation of The Complete Works of Tao Yuanming. In addition, detailed analysis will also be conducted to show how Professor Wang achieves the double “fusion of horizons” with both the source text and the target reader. Last but not least, the thesis will analyze the translation strategies Professor Wang adopts in translating the “blanks” in The Complete Works of Tao Yuanming. In so doing, Professor Wang’s subjectivity in his translation of The Complete Works of Tao Yuanming will be analyzed in detail.