A Tri-Dimensional Comparison Of English Versions Of Book Of Changes Under The Guidance Of Fusion Of Horizons

The proposition "translating is interpreting" was proposed in the16th century. With the development of hermeneutics from special hermeneutics to general hermeneutics and then to philosophical hermeneutics, its connotation has changed along with the constant evolution accordingly. From the perspective of hermeneutics, translation is a process in inter-cultural historic context where a translator of special historicity merges his own horizon with the one of source text and thus generates a new horizon which is to be reset by linguistic signs that are deeply-rooted in target culture (朱健平,2006:73).Gadamer, an outstanding and leading figure in philosophical hermeneutics puts forth three celebrated hermeneutic principles: historicity of understanding, effective history and fusion of horizons, which can be applied to account for large amounts of translation phenomena as well as theories in both domestic and exotic translation histories(郑延国,2009:72). As is known to all, translation is a linguistic cognitive practice under the manipulation of thinking, not only does it involve the transformation of dual linguistic codes, but also concern the dissemination of culture; namely, during the process of translation, the three main elements, thinking, language and culture, are indispensable. A translator who plays dual roles must merge his horizon with the author’s in dimensions of thinking, language and culture in order to convey intention and transmit emotion and then create successful versions; otherwise, the translator’s diligent work will be reduced to his self-recreation.Book of Changes has been one of the earliest as well as the best conserved classic cultural works so far. Dating back to Han Dynasty, Book of Changes was worshiped as "top of all classics" or even "the origin of the great Dao, the supreme Tao of the three"(董易奇,2010:1). In contemporary society, it is highly regarded to be the inexhaustible source of traditional Chinese culture and the spiritual foundation of Chinese nation, with its influence not restricted in China but spreading overseas. This paper attempts to comparatively interpret the two versions of Legge’s and Wang Rongpei/Ren Xiuhua’s under the guidance of Gadamer’s "fusion of horizons" in three dimensions, respectively, thinking, language and culture in order to find out how the translators realize fusion of horizons with the author, ensuing which appropriate approaches of the two representative scriptures dealing with the three main elements in translation activities are appreciated with the ultimate intention of exploring skills and strategies for the translating of sinological masterpieces from Chinese to English.