A Comparative Study On English Translation Of TCM Life-Nurturing Terms In Huainanzi From The Perspective Of "Degree Of Holistic Adaption And Selection"

Huainanzi,the epitome of Huang Laor,is an encyclopedic treatise with high literary and academic value.For advocating "tranquility" and "purity" of Taoist toughts it influences and promotes the development of Chinese health care.In terms of the translation and publicity of Huainanzi,the translation quality of these life-nurturing terms directly affects readers understanding and accepting TCM theory,and it is vital for international communic.ation of traditional Chinese medicine.The "degree of holistic adaption and selection" is posed as a criterion of translation evaluation by Professor Hu Gengshen in his book,AN APPROACH TO TANSLATION AS ADAPTATION AND SELECTION,includin,g multidimensional transformation,reader’s response and translator’s quality.The English translation of C.hinese classics should not only consider the essential factor of multidimensional transformation,but should also lay emphasis on reader’s response and translator’s、quality to convey connotative meanings of the terms more accurately,contributing to Chinese traditional culture "going global".The thesis mainly explores translation methods the two translators employ in translating life-nurturing terms by resorting to the method of multidimensional transformation,together with referring to the annotation and commentaries of some experts of the past and present.And the dissemination status and translation quality of the two translated versions are evaluated by referring to the responses from the readers,along with the two translators’ qualities during the translation process.By the analysis of the two translation versions,we can find what is worth learning and what should be dropped in translating life-nurturing terms.The paper aims to broaden the field of comparative study of Chinese medical classics and provide some references for the translation of traditional Chinese medicine.Through comparative analysis,the main findings are as follows:1)In translating life-nurturing terms,Major is more successful in the transformation from linguistic and communicative dimensions,while Zhai Jiangyue is slightly superior in the transformation from cultural dimension;2)In the translation process,Major usually applies the translation methods of literal translation or "literal translation + annotation",whereas Zhai Jiangyue usually employs free translation method;3)By the analysis of multidimensional transformation,reader’s response and translator"s quality,the "degree of holistic adaption and selection" of Major’s version is high er than that of Zhai Jiangyue’s.The findings show that if the two translators can cooperate in the translation of life-nurturing terms,the co-translated version will have a higher "degree of holistic adaption and selection";reader’s response should be as an essential factor in the evaluation of the translated texts;and translator’s quality plays a very important role in the construction of translated versions.Therefore,the author believes that the publicity of Chinese traditional culture,especially the translation of life-nurturing terms with rich cultural connotations,should rely on the cooperation of domestic and foreign scholars;reader’s response should be taken into consideration in the process of translation;and translator’s quality should be improved greatly before translation process.