A Study Of English Translation Of Chu Ci From The Perspective Of Eco-Translatology

Ever since the 1960s, the society has gradually transformed from industrial civilization to ecological civilization due to economic development and technological progress. Ecological civilization is an inevitable trend of economic development to a certain degree and an objective requirement of the harmonious development of man,nature and society. While "Ecology" is getting more and more attention,it has extended to many social science researches including translation studies.Translation activities ushered in another major transformation-ecological turn after the linguistic and cultural turns.In contemporary China, academics are eager to establish their own theoretical system and exchange local wisdom with international scholars while studying the theory of western translation studies and applying them to practice. Eco-Translatology emerges against this background. Based on the basic principles of (Western)ecological integrity, inspired by the Chinese traditional ecological wisdom, professor Hu Gengshen put forward the theory "Eco-Translatology" in 2005. This theory is an ecological approach to translation studies or translation studies from an ecological perspective. The theory interprets the nature,process,criteria, principles and methods of translation and the phenomenon of translation from the holistic nature of the translation ecosystem. This theory has further discussed ecological translation, text ecology and "translation community" as well as their interactions and interrelationships.Chu Ci and Shi Jing known as "two jades" are the source of two schools of romanticism and realism in Chinese poems. Chu Ci,with its unique charm and unusual kind of glory, has bloomed in the long river of Chinese literature for more than two thousand years. Chu Ci wins the favor of scholars and literati and has a far-reaching influence on the Chinese literature. A large number of scholars are attracted to do translation and research. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Chu Ci was spreading in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries. When it comes to modern times, it gradually spreads to the Western world. Till now it has been translated into French, German, English, Italian, Russian, Spanish and other major European languages.In this thesis, Xu Yuanchong's Elegies of the South and David Hawkes' Ch'u Tz'u the Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology are chosen to be studied in the perspective of Eco-translatology. Xu's version is seen as "a peak" in British and American literature by Prof. Kou Zhiming in the University of Australia. And Hawkes' version is seen as the only complete translation of Chu Ci until now. This thesis mainly focuses on three aspects: First, to discuss and analyze the relationship between translator, translation and translation ecological environment by comparing Xu Yuanchong and David Hawkes' natural and economical environment, linguistic and cultural environment, social and political environment such as the life experience and their education background, etc. Second, to describe the selective adaptation and adaptive selection in ecological environment from linguistic dimension, cultural dimension and communicative dimension. Third, to explore the significance of ecological translation for classics translation and Chinese culture "going out".The study found that Eco-Translatology is a powerful theoretical tool, and only when the translator makes successful selection and adaptation could the translation survive for a long time. During the translation of Chu Ci, translators are always in the central position. These analyses help enrich "Chu Ci" translation with different research perspectives and explore Eco-Translatology's profound guiding significance for the transmission of Chinese traditional culture and translation theory.