A Comparative Study Of The Two English Versions Of Li Qingzhao's Ci Poems From The Perspective Of Translation Ethics Of Difference

As the most outstanding poetess in the Song dynasty,Li Qingzhao holds a predominant position in the history of Chinese ci poetry and her ci poems have been translated and studied devotedly at home and abroad.However,there always exist some "exotic elements" in translation owing to the differences of language and culture.How to deal with "differences" in translation is not only related to the selection of translation strategies but also to translation ethics.The previous studies of the translation of Li Qingzhao's ci poems are mainly confined to the linguistic level,few refer to translation ethics.Translation ethics of difference advocated by Lawrence Venuti tries to highlight the exotic elements in the original texts with the moral appeal of "signaling differences",which opens a new perspective for translation study.Based on translation ethics of difference and the two English versions of Li Qingzhao's ci poems by Kenneth Rexroth and XuYuanchong,the thesis tries to analyze comparatively how the original text is represented in the two English versions from three levels: motivations of the two translators,representation of the original text and effects of the two English versions on the target language and culture.In such a way the thesis explores reasons of their differences,their effects on the target language and culture as well as the ethical issues indicated in their translation.Through analysis,the translator's motivations of choosing the original text are influenced by ideology and poetics.Different motivations of selecting the original texts have effects on translation strategies,which will also influence translators' methods of dealing with the"differences" in the original text.Under a certain circumstances,foreignization will derive some unique expressions and create a heterogeneous discourses,thus expanding and enriching the target language and culture to a certain degree."Signaling difference" is a dialectical point of view,and ethics is originated in philosophy,so the thesis also demonstrates the relationship between "Others" and "I" from philosophy to illustrate the rationality of "signaling difference" in translation.Finally,the thesis draws the following conclusions: it is rational and necessary to signal "differences"in the literary translation.Owing to the different motivations and translation strategies of the two translators,the representation to the original text in the two English versions is also different in some aspects.Kenneth focuses more on transferring the spirit of the ci poetry than being loyal to the linguistic level,so he mainly adopts the creative translation and requires that the translation should conform to valid English poems.Xu Yuanchong mainly adopts "foreignzation" to transfer the Chinese classical culture,thus more faithfully representing the "differences" of the original text.By comparison,Kenneth obliterates many differences ofthe original text by "domestication".Although the version is more readable,the original linguistic and cultural elements are lost to a certain extent.Xu Yuanchong retains more the linguistic and cultural elements which are incompatible with English poetry in his version so that readers can be exposed to an accurate original language and culture.From the whole,Xu Yuanchong's translation is more consistent with the moral appeals of ethics of difference.