A Study On Chinese Versions Of Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward,Angel From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

From the perspective of reception aesthetics, the thesis mainly probes into some relevant issues of the two Chinese versions of Thomas Wolfe’s debut Look Homeward, Angel. The novel Look Homeward, Angel is universally acknowledged as one of the most classic novels in American literature, and its author Thomas Wolfe has created a personal linguistic style and formed an epic color in language. In this novel, Wolfe exquisitely combines impressive verses, ballads with southern American emotions which leave a deep impression on readers. However, his linguistic expressions not only require native speakers to acquire higher comprehensive abilities, but also expect readers of the target language to own higher literary qualities and appreciation capabilities. Therefore, evaluations and suggestions from readers’ receptivity will be conducive to improving translation qualities.At present, there are eight Chinese versions of Look Homeward, Angel in China since it was first introduced and translated in 1985. Among limited text studies of the novel, literary studies take up the major part and most Chinese scholars devote themselves to studies on content and form from the literary perspective. Studies on content highlight the theme and the characters of the novel while studies on form stress the imagism and the style of the work. Likewise, related translation studies mainly concentrate on the introductions of the Chinese versions and their receptivity in China. However, analyses in depth of the translation versions are still few and far between. What’s more, there are few studies concerning translation qualities from the viewpoint of readers. Last but not least, comparative studies on George Kao’s version and Liu Jiyuan’s version are even fewer from the perspective of the choices of the translation versions.The thesis adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods which involves a survey study, theoretical interpretation and case studies in the evaluation of the translation versions. At the same time, the thesis encompasses various levels such as linguistic level, rhetoric level and cultural level. In addition, it also discusses how translators take both readers’ receptivity and aesthetic value of the work into account when they are dealing with horizon of expectation, aesthetic distance and appealing structure.The thesis first introduces the development of reception aesthetics and the basic translation conditions of Look Homeward, Angel in China. It then points out its research background, its research significance and its choice of the Chinese versions as well as the basic research questions, objectives and methods. Subsequently, related literature review analyzes the current research status of reception aesthetics and its application in translation. Likewise, it discusses the research status of Look Homeward, Angel and points out the deficiency of studies in terms of translation. In addition, based on some key notions in reception aesthetics, the thesis combines practical method with theoretical illumination on the two Chinese versions of Look Homeward, Angel. Specifically speaking, at the practical level, the thesis employs a readers’ reception survey on the basis of reception aesthetics to probe into the reception status of George Kao’s version and Liu Jiyuan’s version respectively at linguistic level, rhetorical level and cultural level. From the theoretical perspective, the thesis analyzes how translators adjust target readers’ horizon of expectation, aesthetic distance and appealing structure in the process of translation. Last but not least, based on case studies, the thesis concludes with the feasibility and related problems of applying reception aesthetics to the Chinese versions of Look Homeward, Angel.This research finds out that both the two Chinese versions under study are not totally satisfactory to target readers. Comparatively speaking, Liu Jiyuan’s version is better accepted and adored by readers at linguistic level, rhetorical level and cultural level. Furthermore, readers also suggest that a more advisable translation version should contain aesthetic nature with readability and is supposed to take readers’ reception and creativity into consideration without damaging its artistic value or aesthetic value.The innovation and significance of the thesis: it is the first time to apply reception aesthetics to the study of the two Chinese versions of Look Homeward, Angel. Admittedly, the application of reception aesthetics provides translation studies a wider and more insightful horizon. What is more, on the basis of reception aesthetics, the adoption of a readers’ reception survey offers translation studies a quantitative model of study which to some degree directs the practice of translation and illuminates the way to retranslation of classic literary works.