A Contrastive Study Of Domestication And Foreignization In Both China And The West

Literal translation and free translation seem to have become the counterparts of foreignization and domestication in translation studies. Many scholars simply equal the Chinese understanding of the former to that of the latter in the West, especially Lawrence Venuti's. In light of this, Lin Shu and Yan Fu's free translations in the Late Qing period are often labeled as a typical example of domestication.To clarify the intricate relationships among those concepts, this paper presents a historical account of their developments in both China and the West. It then applies Venuti's theory of foreignization and domestication to reevaluate Lin Shu and Yan Fu's translations. From the research, the author finds that the Chinese understanding of literal translation and free translation is mainly restricted to linguistic features. Though some scholars have proposed the concepts of foreignization and domestication, they haven't developed them into a system. Meanwhile, Venuti sets up his own system of foreignization and domestication by tracing the history of translation in the West in the past two hundred years. He expands the criteria of foreignization and domestication, which cover the choice of foreign texts, the development of a discursive discourse, and the cultural factors included in that translation. He also argues that both literal translation and free translation can be a means to achieve foreignism. Finally, he points out that foreignization doesn't necessarily mean to be more loyal to the source text than domestication does. On the contrary, foreignization may lead to "abusive fidelity".Actually, most of Lin Shu and Yan Fu's choice of foreign texts frequently challenges the then literary canon in China, and their languages often violate the rules of wenyan (classical Chinese prose). Furthermore, their translations have succeeded in introducing advanced ideology and changing Chinese people's views on fictions. They also guide readers to perceive the western society in a more comprehensive way and enlighten them to take up arms against western invasions. Therefore it would be inappropriate to cherish the stereotyped opinion that Lin Shu and Yan Fu's translation works are domestication.