Analysis Of Xin Yi Zhong Guo Jiang Hai Xian Yao Tu Shuo From The Perspective Of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics

During the late Qing Dynasty,China faced internal and external troubles,and the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War once again hit the self-confidence of Chinese people.The translator Chen Shoupeng keenly perceived the value of the China Sea Directory,and translated it as the Xin Yi Zhong Guo Jiang Hai Xian Yao Tu Shuo,with a view to “invigorating our navy,strengthening our frontier,and saving our country”.In this paper,the author compares and analyzes the original text and the translated text,and applies the philosophical idea of Gadamer’s hermeneutics to explain the translation practice.In the 20 th century,modern hermeneutics was in full swing,and Gadamer,standing on the shoulders of giants,creatively proposed three principles of hermeneutics,namely,the historicity of understanding,the fusion of horizons,and the effective history.This paper uses content analysis and literature research method to apply the three principles of Gadamer’s hermeneutics to the field of translation.By comparing the original text with Chen Shoupeng’s translation,and taking into account the translator’s life experience and historical background,the author analyzes the characteristics and mistakes of Chen’s translation,and gives some suggestions for translation practice.The historicity of understanding is objective and unavoidable,so it will inevitably lead to mistranslation.Although Chen Shoupeng has accepted education abroad and studied English for several years,he still makes many mistranslations due to his lack of English proficiency,especially when dealing with the fixed phrases and subordinate clauses.In addition,his unfamiliarity with the knowledge of navigation also results in frequent mistakes in translation.Therefore,the translator needs to continuously improve his personal capacity and learn more about the background of the text to minimize mistranslations caused by the historicity of understanding.Fusion of horizons is to make the horizon of the reader of the translated text blend with that of the original text through translation.The translator and the original author are in different cultural backgrounds,and there exist large cultural differences,while cultural filtering method can help promote cross-cultural communication.Chen Shoupeng uses words familiar to the Chinese public and adds details in his translation so that the reader can get better understanding of the original text,achieving the fusion of two different horizons.The principle of effective history emphasizes the necessity of retranslation.Different translators at different times will produce different translations,leaving different effects.In the case of functional texts,retranslation on the one hand ensures the timeliness of the text and on the other hand corrects errors constantly so that the content of the text becomes more and more accurate.