A Study On The Chinese Version Of Jude The Obscure From The Perspective Of Eco-Translatology

Jude the Obscure,as the last full-length novel written by Thomas Hardy,the renowned critical realist novelist of Victorian England,is wildly popular and favorable among domestic readers.Currently,it has been translated into Chinese by several translators including Zhang Guruo,whose version has long been regarded as the most classic one.However,recently some scholars pointed out that Zhang overused Jiaodong Dialects and four-character phrases in his translation and that his translation strategy violated the principle of moderation that should be upheld in translation practices.To justify the selections made by Zhang in his translation of Jude,this thesis is an attempt to probe into his translation from the perspective of Eco-Translatology by making a detailed analysis of the factors that might influence the quality of the final version and the translating process.The analysis is carried out on two levels.On the macro level,emphasis is put on analyzing the translational eco-environment present in the source language ecosystem and the target language ecosystem as well as the translator’s adaptation to the translational eco-environment;and on the micro level,typical cases are used to explain why Zhang has selected different strategies for the translation of different types of texts.A conclusion can be drawn from this study that Zhang’s selections of translation strategies in the translating process are based on his adaptation to Hardy’swriting style,linguistic features of the source text of Jude,cultural and religious norms of the Victornan era in which Hardy lived,China’s cultural policies in 1950s-1980s,publishers’ requirements,target readers’ preferences etc.Hence,the selections made in his version of Jude are well-grounded and his version is in possession of a high degree of holistic adaptation and selection.This thesis has not only justified Zhang’s selections of strategies in translating Jude,but examined the feasibility of applying Eco-Translatology to the studies and practices of literary translation.It will serve as a convincing supplement to previous application studies of Eco-Translatology and a promising exploration of the translation of English classics.