On The Choice Of Translation Strategies Of The Chinese Classical Literary Works From The Post-colonial Perspective

The Chinese classical literary works are the Chinese traditional literarytreasures characterized by Chinese civilization. In academia, the studies aboutthe translation strategies of the Chinese classical works almost concentrate onthe strategies from the perspectives of the Skopos Theory, the aesthetic effects,deconstructivism and the translators’ subjectivity. Otherwise, some scholarsalso put the attention on the comparison between domestication andforeignizaiton strategies which Venuti put forward in translation practice.However, they failed in analyzing the different strategies in the framework ofa specific translation theory. In recent years, post-colonialism studies havealways attracted much attention in academia. Post-colonialism basically talksabout the relationship of political and cultural between the ex-colonized andthe ex-colonizer; it is intended to eliminate the unequal relationship existing invarious aspects of the two sides and disclose the nature of culture hegemonyof imperialism. This theory was first put into use in the field of translation in1980s, which is known as post-colonial translation theory mainly discussingthe state of cultural and power struggle hiding behind translating. It aims atresisting and removing the prolonged cultural hegemony in present world.From the post-colonial perspective, translation becomes as an effectiveinstrument of exerting cultural hegemony over the Third World by the FirstWorld. Besides, it is the result of unequal dialogue between strong culture and weak culture. On the other hand, China is still in the weak position during theexchange of culture with the western nations. There are much more Chineseversions of English literature than the English versions of Chinese literature;meanwhile, Chinese elements in those translations are removed or assimilatedgreatly as well. Given the circumstances, there is no doubt that post-colonialtranslation theory would be a good guide for Chinese literature to be translated.Thus, it would be of great significance to make an unbiased analysis andresearch on the effect of post-colonial translation theory on Chinese classicalliterary works.Bai Juyi, a great litterateur in the Tang Dynasty of China, created theremarkable poem Changhenge when he was young. This poem describes theattractive, but sorrowful love story between Emperor Xuanzong of the TangDynasty and his concubine Yang Guifei, in the end of the poem the poetimages a happy ending for the two pitiful lovers. Changehenge is regarded asone of the most important and representative classical literary works inChinese history. Many translators at home and abroad have translated it intoEnglish, such as Xu Yuanchong、Yang Xianyi、Herbert.A.Giles、William John.B. Fletcher etc. On the other hand, many scholars have also commented on itstheme, the artistic value of poetry, translation strategies. However, very fewpeople study its translation strategies from the perspective of post-colonialtranslation theory. It would be of great significance to make study on thecomparison of translation strategies of Changhenge and analyze the choice of translation strategies in the framework of post-colonial translation theory.With post-colonial translation theory as the theoretical framework, thisthesis would compare and discuss the translation strategies that three differenttranslators adopt when translating from the weak culture to the strong culture.The purpose is to analyze the influence of choice of translation strategies onthe output of Chinese culture. Through analyzing and discussing, the authorgets a conclusion that in post-colonial context, Xu Yuanchong employs thetranslation strategies of foreignizaiton and hybridity, the Chinese culturalimage and context can be best preserved; In contrast, Giles and Fletchermainly adopt domestication, which destroy the cultural image.We shouldadopt foreignization as the first strategy, domestication as the second andcombine with hybridity. In this way can we succeed in the output of Chineseculture.