Cyril Birch's Translation Of Yijing In The Peony Pavilion:From The Perspective Of Reception Theory

The representation of Yijing is an important part of translating Chinese classical drama.Yijing is the combination of scene(s)composed by images,the"image from image" imagined by readers,and the emotions contained in those two.Based on the reception theory which emphasizes the role of readers' reception in a literary work's life,this thesis analyzes how Cyril Birch's translation of Yijing in The Peony Pavilion reflects his active reception of the source text,and how his translation takes into consideration the readers' reception of the translated text.The thesis found that in translating Yijing,Birch sometimes adds images,translates images based on his unique understandings,combines images into one,and logicalizes juxtaposed images.This actually shows that he is not a passive recipient of the source text,but an active agent leveraging his imagination and creativity in interpreting the text,and making translations based on such interpretation.In translation,Birch adopts the explanatory translation,image removal and replacement to remove the understanding barriers that might be created by cultural images,so that readers could enter the text and realize a fusion of horizon with it.At the same time,he also pays attention to keeping the artistic features of images,including their colors and sensory associations,to facilitate the target readers in constructing Yijing in their mind and tasting the Yijing's aesthetic values.