A Hermeneutic Interpretation On English Translation Of Cultural Images In Ci-poems

Cultural image represents each nation’s wisdom and culture, which, as an important component of textmeaning, permeates in all types of lexis, conveying profound and relatively fixed connotations of national culture.Although we cannot replicate the original author’s special psychological feelings at the time when he wrote worksduring a specific period of time, the text realized by languages is an objective existence, its significance isdetermined, unchanged and can be replicated，so the cultural images can be transmitted. What has changed is themeaning, a relationship between significance and a person, a system, a scene or a thing. Translation as a process ofunderstanding and interpretation on text, will be inevitably restricted by subjective and objective factors, so thedifference existing in transmitting cultural images is inevitable too. Therefore as a translator, he should constantlyovercome the negative effects that fore-structure of understanding and prejudices bring us, and ceaselessly exploreat the two levels of language and culture, trying to get close to the accurate transmission of cultural images indifferent languages and achieve the aim of cultural propagation and communication.To take the English translation of cultural images in Li Qingzhao’s ci-poems as a case study, this thesiscompares and analyzes the different understandings and interpretations made by different translators on the samecultural images in Chinese ancient ci-poems. And then by utilizing the core concepts of Gadamer’s Hermeneutictheory, fore-structure of understanding and prejudice, fusion of horizons and effective history, this thesis provides atheoretical interpretation on the differences existing in transmitting cultural images, and further illustrates thattranslation is a process of textual interpretation. The differences of translated version and textual understanding arealways subject to differences of language, culture, social and historical background, the translator’s languagecompetence, way of thinking, values and other internal and external factors. Finally, from Hirsch’s distinctionbetween significance and meaning, the author of this thesis makes a dialectical thinking of the certainty of textualsignificance and translator’s creativity.This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter one introduces the research background, purposes, significance,research questions, thesis structure and research methods. Chapter two first starts with the research of image in thewestern and Chinese literary tradition, and then discusses the relation of image, language, culture and translation, atthe same time puts forward some definitions of cultural images. Finally the classification, characteristics andprevious study of cultural images are illustrated. Chapter three is about the theoretical framework, which introducesin detail the origin and historical development of philosophical hermeneutics and its core concepts: fore-structure of understanding and prejudice, fusion of horizons, effective history, significance and meaning. Chapter four brieflyintroduces Li Qingzhao and her ci-poems, and then classifies cultural images in her ci-poems. Chapter five makesdetailed comparison and analysis of strategies, methods and effects of English translation of cultural images in twoversions, and gives an in-depth analysis of reasons resulting in differences and a dialectical thinking with Hirsch’shermeneutic theory. Chapter six is the conclusion of this thesis, and meanwhile brings forward the limitations of thisresearch and suggestions for further research.