A Comparative Study Of Two English Versions Of Yuanqu Poems From The Prospective Of Reception Aesthetics

The thesis has studied two English versions of Yuanqu poems.As a manifestation of the essence of traditional Chinese culture,Yuanqu poems not only bring and propagate brilliant Chinese traditional culture to the whole world but have likewise been highly appreciated by their target readers.Besides,readers' reception is an essential yardstick in assessing the quality of translated Yuanqu poems.Reception Aesthetics,as a perspective applicable to translation and as a literary criticism theory,is distinct from traditional translation theories in that it emphasizes readers'role and status.This thesis attempts to analyze Yuanqu poems translation under the guidance of Reception Aesthetics.In the thesis,the author takes two English versions of Yuanqu poems,one is Zhou Fangzhu's An English Translation of 200 Yuanqu Poems(????? 200??)and the other one is Xu Yuanchong's 300 Yvan Songs(??????(???)?)as cases for studying and exploring them from the perspective of Reception Aesthetics.The thesis mainly applies three key concepts of Reception Aesthetics to this research,namely,the horizon of expectations,readers,role and status and appealing structure.Through analyzing some selected examples from the two versions of translated Yuanqu poems,the thesis indicates that translators should attach great importance to target readers for their diverse knowledge background,experience and standpoints.Another mission of translators is that they should consider target readers' horizon of expectations into consideration,bridge aesthetic distance between their horizon and the translated version.What's more,translators should leave some blanks to arouse target readers' interest.The thesis mainly studies how to translate Yuanqu poems better in the following four aspects:target readers' language habits,cultural background,aesthetic taste and cognitive ability.After analyzing some featured examples,the author suggests some feasible skills and strategies for Yuanqu poems' translation,such as conversion,addition,omission and reorganization.With demonstrating a new perspective for the study of Yuanqu poems translation and proving the feasibility of employing Reception Aesthetics in Yuanqu poems translation,the thesis might contribute a share to the translation of Yuanqu poems and to the study of translated Yuanqu poems.