A Comparative Study Of The English And French Translations Of The Tao Te Ching From The Perspective Of Eco-Translatology

The Tao Te Ching is one of the greatest masterpieces in Chinese history and has had a profound impact on traditional philosophy,politics,and religion.According to UNESCO,the Tao Te Ching is the most translated and published masterpiece except from the Bible.Therefore,translations of the Tao Te Ching are always a focus of academic research.Previous studies mainly focus on the English translation of the Tao Te Ching,and there is a lack of research on the French versions.Moreover,the comparative studies of the English and French translations are hard to find.The present study mainly applies the theory of "three-dimensional transplantations" and "Translation as Adaptation and Selection" in Eco-Translatology and adopts the textual analysis method to analyze two classic translations by Arthur Waley and Stanislas Julien.Through the comparison of the two translations,this study summarizes the similarities and differences between the translation strategies of the two versions and suggests translation strategies of Chinese classics such as the Tao Te Ching.This study helps to expand the research results in the field of plurilingual studies on French-English-Chinese combinations and supplements the deficiencies in the study of French translation of the Tao Te Ching as well as the English-French comparative study.In addition,this study adopts the theory of Eco-Translatology,and proves that the theory is applicable in academic research.Therefore,this study analyzes the translation of the Tao Te Ching from a new perspective,which contributes to the improvement of the translation of the Tao Te Ching and its related research.Thus,the study has both theoretical and practical significance.The study finds that both the English and French versions of the Tao Te Ching apply adaptations and selections based on the original text.The English translation attaches importance to the fluency of the translation,and mainly adopts the translation strategies of omission,shifting imageries,and concretization.At the same time,it uses the antithetical couplets in order to reflect the poetic characteristics of the original text.The French translation,on the other hand,attaches importance to the faithfulness of the original text and the transmission of details,and mainly adopts the translation strategy of "leaning on" and explanations.It also takes into consideration the consistency of the text.Through comparison,this study concludes that the French version better adapts to the source-text ecology and target-text ecology.In the future,it is suggested that translators of the Tao Te Ching adhere to the three following principles in order:fidelity,explanations,and structure of the poem.The conclusion of the study shows that in the process of translation of Chinese classics,it is not only possible to learn from the experience of previous translations in one language,but also to draw effective information from the translations of other languages.Cross-language integration and communication facilitate the effective dissemination of excellent works.