A Study On The Disputes Over The Establishment Of Translation Studies In China

1951 saw Dong Qiusi(董秋斯) first clearly propose the establishment of Translation Studies in China, which was leading the way in the research into translation not only in China but also in the West. However, due to historical reasons, his claim remained long ignored until the mid-1980s when some far-sighted translation scholars, deemed translation both in practice and theory quite inferior to what it should be, again expounded that it was imperative to establish Translation Studies as an independent academic discipline, which consequently has spurred the debate over Translation Studies in China ever since. The debate even reached a climax at the end of last century. In the past several decades, the main topics the scholars have been arguing over are: (1) Can Translation Studies be an independent academic discipline? (2) Should we establish Chinese Translation Studies or Translation Studies with Chinese characteristics? (3) Is there such a thing that Translation Studies termed and expected is now a matter of fact in China?Many scholars have contributed much to the issues in discussion; however, their studies are far from complete and systematic. As we can see, these questions are basically concerned about the status and prospect of the translation cause, so a timely study that is both complete and systematic is quite necessary. What's more, Translation Studies as a discipline is far from mature; therefore, profound and heated discussions on these questions arebound to go on. To draw something positive and negative from the past debate can be certainly beneficial for us to push forward the development of Translation Studies in right direction; hence a systematic and in-depth study of the past debates is a must. This thesis attempts to review these debates, explore how and why the debates happened to be, analyze the main points on both sides, and thus generalizes some ideas based on relevant theoretical foundations. In addition, the paper tries to summarize the debates as a whole, elaborate what is to be leant from the debates, what is to be done in the future so as to further the development of Translation Studies.Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, this thesis consists of five chapters.The introduction offers the context and clarifies the problem concerned and the objectives as well as the structure of this thesis.Chapter One is a literature review. It firstly defines some central concepts related to Translation Studies. Then it reviews the past studies on this topic, and accordingly set forth the problems this thesis plans to solve.Chapter Two mainly discusses the issue of whether or not Translation Studies can be established as an independent discipline. After analyzing the pros and cons and based on the related theories of the Disciplinary Science (^ f4^) , it points out the probability and necessity of establishing Translation Studies. In addition, this chapter traces the root cause of objecting to Translation Studies: a one-sided understanding of the functions of translation theory.Chapter Three aims to answer the question of whether or not we should build Chinese Translation Studies or Translation Studies with Chinese Characteristics. This paper, by reviewing the viewpoints on both sides, argues that this proposal appears unscientific and improper. We can advocate "Chinese School of Translation Studies", but it is not a discipline and is essentially different from Chinese Translation Studies or Translation Studieswith Chinese characteristics.Chapter Four attempts to analyze another hot question: Has Translation Studies been built up in China? This thesis, applying the criteria of the establishment of a new discipline from the Disciplinary Science, proposes that at present Translation Studies has basically been built up in China, but it is far from perfect and still needs further development.Chapter Five is a reflection of the debates in point as a whole. After justifying the debate and pointing out why and how some one-sided opinions over the issues arise, this chapter looks into the future of Translation Studies and suggests the future task of establishing Translation Studies.The conclusion restates the main points, claims the significance of this thesis and offers some suggestions for follow-up research.