| The Journey to the West is one of the great Chinese classic novels.It follows the growth and exploits of the Monkey King,Sun Wukong,and the journey of the monk Xuanzang and his companions as they seek treasured Buddhist scriptures that lie in the West(modern-day India).The two English-language translations that have allowed this grand tale to most widely reach Western audiences are Arthur Waley's Monkey: A Folk Novel of China and Anthony C.Yu's The Journey to the West.Waley's book,first published in 1942,is a highly abridged version,more suited to general readers,and is sparkling and quick-witted.Yu's version,published in 1983,is a complete translation in four volumes,suitable for the academic,and is thorough and rich.In this thesis,I utilize descriptive analysis as my methodology to compare the naming conventions,poetry,and the treatment of dialogue and wordplay within the two translations.Through comparison,I find that each work lands on opposite ends of the domestication and foreignization spectrum.Arthur Waley used the translation tactic of domestication,while Anthony C.Yu utilized foreignization in his translation.To classify and rationalize these techniques,I apply Lawrence Venuti's Foreignization and Domestication Theory,Antoine Berman's classification of the manifestations of domestication,and Pierre Bourdieu's Habitus Theory.These theory are also put to use in understanding the reasons why each translator undertook such divergent paths in interpreting and translating the same work.In examining the lives of both Arthur Waley and Anthony C.Yu through the lens of Habitus Theory,I find clear trends leading to the outcome of their distinctive takes on The Journey to the West.I come to the conclusion that the final products of the their years of hard work in translating this classic were inevitably shaped by their life experiences,which in turn shaped the purpose that each translator held in mind as their work came to fruition. |
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