The Transfer Of Cultural Message In The Translation Of Zhuangzi

Zhuangzi, a classic representative of Taoism, has been one of the most renownedclassical works in China. It is a collection of articles on ethics, philosophy, politics,life and academics by the school of Zhuangzi, containing profound philosophicalideas and rich cultural information. Therefore, to let more people know Zhuangzi,know about Zhuangzi the author, and get familiar with ancient Chinese culture, is oneway to promote China to the whole world. So it is clear that rendering good version ofZhuangzi, penetrating the philosophical ideas, and transferring the culture meaningsbetween lines, has become a criterion for deciding the success of translation practice.The "cultural turn" in translation studies has been a hot topic among recentdiscussions, and accordingly, the translation strategies related to culture elements havebecome the focus of this study. This paper puts more emphasis on the culturalelements transformation, larded with analysis of the translation of some philosophicalideas, and makes a tentative probe into this classical work. The reason why I select thethree representative versions lies in their respective translators: A. C. Graham, aforeign translator; Lin Yutang, a master of both Western and Chinese cultures; WangRongpei, a native speaker whose versions could bring us different cultural flavors.Zhuangzi comprises 33 chapters made up of a wide range of knowledge, while herethis paper only chooses The Inner Chapters as its focus. The reason lies in that it isgenerally acknowledged that The Inner Chapters were completed by Zhuangzihimself. And the Chinese examples cited within mainly refer to the English andChinese version by Wang Rongpei. The paper is made up of five chapters:Chapter One takes a commentary review at the history and significance of cultural translation theory. With a discussion of translation study theory as a beginning, it makes a general review at the development of cultural translation theory both in the West and China. Then comes the role translator played in translation practice. Chapter Two refers to the controversial debates for years about "free and literal translation", "domestication and foreignizaiton", and reviews their history of development. And some examples are taken to help a clearer explanation of these two strategies on the theoretical basis.Chapter Three introduces the philosopher Zhuangzi, and also the work; an overall discussion of the three versions and their respective translators as well.Chapter Four begins with a comparison of title translation of the three versions, then comes to two philosophical terms running through the text, and makes an analysis of some cultural messages, some classic sentences, also some unique usage of "double words" and anadiplosis contained in The Inner Chapters. On the basis of ancient Chinese cultural information analysis, this paper tries to make comparison and explanation about the strength and weakness of the corresponding translation of culture-bound information, borrows some classical translations of famous translators, and presents my opinion and summary of interpretation. Finally comes out the conclusion that translators should choose appropriate strategies with a comparatively right understanding of Chinese culture.