Lin Yutang As A Cultural Author-translator

Lin Yutang,a Chinese author enjoying popularity among Western readers,wrote considerable books on China,so Lin's role is a devoted cultural ambassador more than an excellent translator,writer and linguist.Especially his contribution to the dissemination of Chinese culture is of great significance to the cultural communication between China and the West.Though many studies on Lin have been carried out,the researches on his biographical work The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo(hereinafter called The Life and Times of Su Tongpo),which is Lin's most satisfied work of his own(Lin said in his Memoirs of an octogenarian),are largely ignored.In this book,Lin synthesized his role of author and translator,of narrator and critic of history and of inheritor and transmitter of Chinese culture,but the value of intercultural communication and cultural translation embodied in the book has not been fully recognized.Therefore,this paper intends to broaden the study in this filed.This paper,a case study on translation and writing of Lin's The Life and Times of Su Tungpo in the perspective of translation and reception,aims at studying how Lin Yutang accomplished his role as an intercultural Author-Translator.Lin's deliberate selection of Chinese traditional culture for Westerners is analyzed according to Nida Eugene's five sub-culture aspect and spiritual aspect.Through elaborating some typical examples,this paper finds out how Lin's flexible employments of both foreignization and domestication and his advocate of Xingling(??)translation worked harmoniously,which helped shaping a unique Lin style translation:not only retaining Chinese lingual and cultural features but also facilitating Westerner readers'understanding of Chinese culture.Furthermore,Lin's competence and excellence of global communication are revealed by the analysis of how he built a bridge crossing the gaps of cultural differences between China and the West,solid with common cultural foundations and impressive with Lin's humorous and insightful comments.Eventually,Lin's role of cultural author-translator and his philosophy of"one mind seeks the learning of ancients and moderns;two legs straddle the cultures of East and West"(???????,???????) can be well illustrated.