A Study On Yuan Kejia's Translation From The Perspective Of Total Translation Theory

In his translation practice spanning nearly half a century,Yuan Kejia had always inosculated translation,creation and research as a whole;he emphasized the total coordination of language,form and content and the total correlation of text and paratext in translation;he formed the total translation thought of considering both macro and micro aspects;and his translations had a total effect on society,culture and creation.Therefore,it is necessary to take “totality” as a clue to conduct a systematic study on Yuan's translation.Based upon Marxism,and the ideologies and theories of G.Lukács,Mao Zedong,F.Jameson,A.F.Tytler,J.C.Catford,A.V.Fedorov,K.A.Appiah,this dissertation constructs the Total Translation Theory,which comprises the following five essentials: the blending of translation and other behaviors,and of translation and the social context;the organic totality of language,form and content in translation;the total correlation of text and paratext in translation;the correspondence of translator's translation thought and practice;and the total value of translation to other behaviors and society.From the perspective of Total Translation Theory,this dissertation employs the methods of descriptive research,synchronic and diachronic research,induction and deduction,and comparative study to explore the trinity of Yuan's translation,creation and research,to describe the totality of his poetry translation,to extract his translation thought of considering both macro and micro aspects,and to examine the social and cultural value of his translation.Within the framework of the essential at the macro level,“the blending of translation and other behaviors,and of translation and the social context”,this dissertation combines text,social context and the translator subject,and finds that in the three stages of his literary career,Yuan insisted on integrating translation,creation and research into an interactive and symbiotic whole;and inspired by the social context,he,with the whole of the three,pursued specific cultural propositions.In the first stage,the whole of the three pursued the modernist proposition in the social context of pursuing modernism.In the second stage,the whole of the three pursued the proposition of progressive literature and art in the social context of pursuing progressive literature and art.In the third stage,the whole of the three returned to the pursuit of modernist proposition in the social context of unrestricted literary pursuit and the influx of modernism.The trinity of translation,creation and research is thus revealed.Within the framework of the essentials at the micro level,“the organic totality of language,form and content in translation” and “the total correlation of text and paratext in translation”,this dissertation analyzes such elements at the micro level as language,form,content,translation preface,translation note,etc.,and finds that Yuan with the modes of “poet as a translator of poetry” and “thick translation” produced poetry translation featured with the advantage of totality.The mode of “poet as a translator of poetry” promoted the translator to have a penetrating understanding of the source text,which laid a foundation for the adaptation of language and form and the total presentation of content in translation.The mode of “thick translation” promoted the translator to presuppose the value of the text and clarify various related issues in the translation process by using the paratexts of translation preface and postscript,and to improve readers' understanding of the text by using the paratext of translation note.In this way,the poetry translation featured with the advantage of totality was generated and gradually evolved into the translated literary canon.The totality and the canonicity of Yuan's translation are revealed.Within the framework of the essential “the correspondence of translator's translation thought and practice”,this dissertation,following the route of Yuan's practice of total translation,finds his total translation thought of considering both macro and micro aspects with a combination of his papers on translation.First of all,he insisted on the blending of translation,creation and research,and especially on the close combination of translation and research.Second,he advocated examining macro translation from multidimensional approaches,including translation motives in connection with social practical needs,text selection strategy of avoiding decadent and mediocre works,and translator's ethic of carrying forward the spirit of patriotism and internationalism.Last,he put forward the strategic schemes of regulation and control on micro translation,including the idea of totality in poetry translation,the methods of translating the style of poetry,the four situations of idiom translation and six principles annotation in translation.Yuan's translation thought of considering both macro and micro aspects is revealed.Within the framework of the essential “the total value of translation to other behaviors and society”,this dissertation probes into Yuan's translation and finds the total value: promoting the diversification of poetry creation,advancing the evolution of literary trends and introducing in the Western culture.First,the flexible language and rich forms of metrical patterns of the poetry translation indirectly promoted the enrichment and transformation of literary creation at the levels of language and metrical patterns,thus having promoted the diversification of poetry creation.Second,of the translation practices during the three stages,those of the first and third stages promoted the development of the modernist literary trend in Chinese society;those of the second stage promoted the development of the progressive literary trend in Chinese society,and part of the practices of the second stage advanced the development of the modernist literary trend.Last,Yuan introduced in the Western culture represented by religious culture,customary culture,ancient Greek culture and industrial civilization.The total value of Yuan's translation at the social and cultural levels is revealed.Yuan's translation is characterized by totality at both macro and micro levels,and his translation thought and value are also characterized by totality.Evidently,“totality” is the key to examining his translation.The study of Yuan's translation from the perspective of Total Translation Theory restores his stereoscopic image in the aspect of translation,reveals his unique position in the innovation process of Chinese culture,and certifies the importance of the approach of totality to the study of those translators who are also writers and scholars.