The Translator’s Subjectivity From The Somatics Of Translation

In recent years, the research toward the translator’s subjectivity has drawn much more attention in translation field both at home and abroad. However, People mostly feel that the importance to make the translation for the translator hasn’t been fully attached, and how the translator influence the quality of the translation is non-authoritative, what’s worse, the role that the translator plays is not paid much attention either.The somatics of translation, proposed by Douglas Robinson as the famous contemporary American translation theorist, has exerted an enormous impact on scholars in translation field for its originality and novelty. In his view, the translation is the process in which the translator and the ST author needs to be "jointly present" until the ultimate production of translation, specifically, the "body" can be seen as the synonymy to the translator. This theory emphasizes the performance of translator’s subjectivity in translation process, and requires the translation research into the level of body experience, through which the translation practice will be heightened and facilitated. Therefore, the somatics of translation provides the theoretical support for the translator to fully perform the translator’s subjectivity.Tao Yuanming, as the Chinese poet, is of great interest to western scholars. Among all his works, Taohuayuanji is his perennial masterpiece, a wonderful works of Chinese classical literature in the garden, which has been favored all around the domestic and Western world. Hence the translated versions they have made are no less than ten. In this thesis, based on the somatics of translation as its theoretical support, the author uses the qualitative analysis and induction as the methodology, firstly the development process on translation subject from" the invisible man" to" the leading role" and the translation theories from" cognition " to "somatics "are introduced. No matter linguistic translation theory from Jacobson, the "Cultural Turn theory "from Susan Bassnett, the Polysystem theory from Evan Zohar and Toury, the Deconstruction theory from Derrida, etc in overseas research, and the "Loyalty, Faithfulness, Elegance" from Yan Fu, the literature translation Creation Theory from Mao Dun, proposal of "sublimity or perfection from Qian Zhongshu" in domestic research all deepen the realization on the translator’s subjectivity and throw more focus on the study of the translation subject, which could be seen as the fundamentals in this thesis then the author tentatively expounds the association and difference as well as the relationship between the somatics of translation and the translator’s subjectivity followed by the exemplification of the translator’s subjectivity by citing two representative translated versions of Taohuayuanji from the same period, finally explores the "body" factors in bringing about the differences of the translator’s subjectivity.Finally the author found that the somatics of translation offers an explanation on how the translated versions are different, more significantly, it makes a description on how translator makes the good translation from somatics of translation:the translator should heighten his/her language performance, mentality and psychology, personal experience, intellectual capability, cultural edification etc. As a translator, his/her task is not merely to convey the SL author’s idea, more importantly, he/she needs to create his/her own TT by letting his/her "body" to experience the ST.