| This thesis aims at studying the synchronic and diachronic translations of LunYu separately. The diversity and unity of the synchronic translation of James Legge'sand Ku Hung-ming's English versions of Lun Yu are discussed. Then, the diachronictranslations of James Legge's, Ezra Pound's and Edward Slingerland's versions arestudied.The author reviews the development of translations of Lun Yu and the studies ofthem as well as the development of the theory of synchronic and diachronictranslation and explains the theory in detail. Different English versions are analyzedin the frame of synchronic and diachronic translation theory proposed by LiuMingqing. The diversity and unity of synchronic translation can be analyzedseparately. The diversity of synchronic translation means different translations to onesource text should be allowed in the same period, while the unity means thattranslators have their rights to interpret the text based on their pre-understanding butthe interpretation should be effective and reasonable. Diachronic translation refers tothe variability of translation which results from the changes of value standards causedby historical development or changes.It consists of six parts. Part one is an introduction, in which, research background,research significance and research methodology are mentioned. Part two is a literaturereview which is about Lun Yu and its translations as well as studies of thesetranslations. In addition, it gives a brief review of synchronic and diachronictranslations which forms the main framework of the thesis. What's more, studies onsynchronic and diachronic translations are discussed in this part. Part three exploresthe synchronic translations of Lun Yu. The synchronic diversity of Lun Yu translationsresults from translators' subjectivities, different translating purposes and differentservice objects. Translators' subjectivities are embodied in the process of text-receiving and text-producing separately. What's more, synchronic unity of LunYu translations should also be studied. The essence of translation is inter-lingualmeaning conversion. It is the common foundation and value standard of diversetranslations. Part four is devoted to the study of diachronic translations of Lun Yu.Three diachronic factors have been studied in this chapter: language, socialbackground, and readers' horizon of expectations. Part five explores the significanceof synchronic and diachronic retranslations. They are helpful to the promotion oftranslation quality, the revival and everlasting of the classics and the development ofcomparative literature. Part six, as a conclusion, is a summary of what has beendiscussed above and points out the limits in this thesis.The author makes a detailed comparative study of the four English versions ofLun Yu. Instead of evaluating their gains and losses, the author focuses on thesynchronic and diachronic factors in shaping these different versions. |
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