A Study On Howard Goldblatt’s Translation Of Qing Yi From The Perspective Of Ethics Of Difference

The inequality between the two languages as well as the two cultures in translation makes it inevitablefor translators to be influenced by ethical values. Therefore, the translator’s attitude towards the“strangeness” of the foreign culture to some extent determines his/her translation ethics. Americantranslation theorist Lawrence Venuti holds that the translator’s ethics of difference can be seen in theselection of source-text and the translation strategies to be adopted. Though developed in the westernpostcolonial critical context, it can also be applied to Chinese cultural context. The English version of QingYi by Howard Goldblatt, an eminent translator, strikes a balance between maintaining the “strangeness” andcatering to English readers. The aim of this study is to testify the feasibility of ethics of difference by theanalyses and comparison between the texts in both languages.As a cultural power, our culture is greatly in need of going global. Enlightened by Venuti’s ethics ofdifference, we can get new enlightenment from Goldblatt’s practice of translation of Qing Yi. This thesisfocuses on analyzing Goldblatt’s translation of Qing Yi on three levels from the perspective of ethics ofdifferences: analysis from lingual forms, the cultural difference, and writing techniques. In addition, theauthor analyzes the translation strategies with a view to find the enlightening meanings of ethics ofdifference and the method of bringing Chinese culture to the world.