Aesthetic Psychology And Translation

As an art, literary work is the product of creative activities that have certain aesthetic property, displaying its particular beauty in all respects. To such an artwork that is created through particular language bearing characteristics of iconicity and artistry, reflecting the writer's particular artistic style, and implicating exceedingly exquisite artistic conception, the translator is required to acquire the capacity to appreciate its artistic beauty. To some extent, literary translation is an art of language reproduction, applying another language (target language) to reproduce the aesthetic components of the original work, including the overt beauty and covert beauty. Thus, it is quite essential to study the aesthetic psychology of translators of different nationalities and historical backgrounds from the perspective of psychology and probe into the formation process of different versions provided with diverse aesthetic styles.The thesis mainly deals with two English versions of Luotuo Xiangzi, with one as Camel Xiangzi, translated by Shi Xiaoqing from China in 1981, and the other as Rickshaw Boy, translated by Evan King from America in 1945. As these two translators are differentiated by Eastern and Western regions, their translations differ from each other in aspects of the adaptation of denouement, and the rewriting, addition and deletion of certain episodes and persona, etc. Starting from the analysis of the discrepancy of aesthetic psychologies between the East and the West, the present thesis gives prominence to the reproduction and ablation of the original aesthetic constituents revealed in the versions through a relatively detailed analysis focusing on the reproduction process of overt beauty and covert beauty. The thesis mainly consists of four chapters:Chapter 1 states the relationship between aesthetic psychology and translation. Firstly, the necessity of studying translation from aesthetic psychology is discussed, followed by a tentative analysis of the similarities and differences between translation aesthetics and other aesthetic activities, laying groundwork for the writing of this thesis.Chapter 2 probes into the discrepancy between Eastern and Western aesthetic psychologies related to translation. The embodiment and effects of deep-level discrepancy in Eastern and Western aesthetic psychologies related to the translation process are discussed mainly from four angles like thinking pattern, cultural psychology, ideology and aesthetic mode, and the reasons for such discrepancy are excavated from three aspects of historical geographical environment, historical political background and philosophical foundation, laying a theoretical foundation for later discussions.Chapter 3 analyzes two versions of Luotuo Xiangzi from the perspective of aesthetic psychology. On the basis of making a general introduction to the original work and the two translators, this chapter elaborates a comparatively detailed analysis of the two versions from the angles of overt beauty and covert beauty of the text, such as phonetic beauty, lexical beauty and syntactic beauty on the level of overt beauty, and the aspects like beauty of image, beauty of scenery and beauty of plot, which possess the tendency of covert beauty, while simultaneously providing a tentative general comment of these two versions aesthetically.Chapter 4 explores the enlightenment the research of the discrepancy of aesthetic psychology sheds on translation studies. The importance of discussing aesthetics appreciation and aesthetic psychology in the literary translation process is never to be over-estimated in translation studies. This chapter makes a tentative summary mainly from problems derived and enlightenments obtained. Problems such as the insufficient understanding of the spirit of contemporary aesthetic translation and the embarrassments caused by the untranslatability of the profound beauty in the translation process have to be faced; enlightenments obtained like the adjustment of traditional translation concepts, the rational knowledge of the originality of translation and the dual transcendence of successful version also have to be studied seriously.