A Comparative Study Of The Three English Versions Of Lu Xun’s Short Stories From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

This thesis applies related concepts like horizon of expectations and target readers in reception aesthetics and conducts a comparative study to explore target readers of three English versions of Lu Xun’s Short Stories and their reception status.Reception aesthetics is a new literary critic theory emerged in the1960s. Horizon of expectations is a dynamic accumulation of human knowledge, experience and wisdom; it constantly changes as time goes on and society changes. Different translators will make various translations due to their differentiations in social and cultural backgrounds, knowledge and beliefs, values and horizons of expectations and so on. Target readers from different cultural backgrounds have diverse horizons of expectations about the same works. Rather than passive receptors of the literary works, they are active attendants. Readers’ response will affect the reception status of works, therefore in translation translators should take readers’horizons of the expectations into consideration and show concerns for target readers in terms of culture background knowledge and language habits.This thesis is based on parts of Lu Xun’s Short Stories, which occupies a pivotal position in literature at home and abroad. Until now, there have been18translators at home and abroad who have translated it into English. The best-known domestic version belongs to Yang Xianyi while the best-known versions abroad are respectively translated by William Lyell and Julia Lovell. For the moment, there are abundant researches on Yang Xianyi’s translation while only a few are on foreign translators’versions. The three translators mentioned above from different cultural backgrounds, translate in different times, thus the comparative study on them has feasibility. The emphasis is not on the evaluation of the three versions but on the exploration in differences in translators’ translating strategies and concerns for target readers as well as the effects on the reception status among readers.Translators have unique characteristics in dealing with footnotes and endnotes, deletion and full rendering, choice of literal translation and free translation as well as concerns for target readers due to the differences in nationality and target reader orientation. Yang Xianyi mainly adopts literal translation and full rendering. Although with some footnotes, there are still many deletions in translation of some cultural background information. Lyell’s translation is characterized by vivid American spoken English, plenty of additions in translation of cultural background information and the most detailed footnotes. Lovell employs English mingled with many French expressions and makes many deletions in translation of cultural background information only with a few endnotes. Based on the analysis of the case study, this thesis finds that Yang’s version is more suitable to Chinese English readers; it is Lyell’s version, often used as textbook that enjoys most attention of foreign readers; Lovell’s version is viewed favorably among foreign readers for its concise and fluent British English.