A Comparative Study Of Two English Versions Of Dao De Jing From The Perspective Of Manipulation Theory

Traditional translation study regards translation as the simple linguistic exchange. The translation study in the west has turned into the cultural dimensions since the 1980 s, which attaches much importance to the status and role of culture in translation. The change in translation studies is known as “Culture Turn”. Andre Lefevere is one of the representatives of cultural translation school. Lefevere laid stress on and demonstrated the impact of ideology, poetics and patronage on translator?s choice of original text and translation strategies, and viewed translation as a rewriting of the original text in his Translation, Rewriting and the Manipulation of Literary Fame. This is called Lefevere?s manipulation theory.Based on Lefevere?s manipulation theory, the thesis makes a comparative study of Legge?s and Lau?s English versions of Dao De Jing to explore the main forces that influence the translation of Dao De Jing. Different translation methods are adopted in the two versions due to the different ideologies. Meanwhile, due to the difference of the dominant poetics, the language style and textual expression in the two versions are also distinct from each other. Through the study, it can be found that the transmission of traditional Chinese culture is from the special limited group to the masses. Meanwhile, the thesis also reflects the transmission law of traditional Chinese culture in the western translation circles.This thesis contains seven parts: The first part, introduction, introduces the research background, significance of the research as well as methodology. Also the thesis structure has been made clear. The second part, chapter one is literature review, introduces Lao Zi and his book, English translation history of Dao De Jing, two translators and their versions, and reviews scholars? previous studies on Dao De Jing both at home and abroad. The third part, chapter two is the theoretical basis, introduces “manipulation theory”, Lefevere and his manipulation theory. The fourth part, the fifth part, the sixth part, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, in the light of the manipulation theory, makes the comparative analysis of the two versions from the perspective of Ideology, Poetics and Patronage respectively. The last part is the conclusion of the thesis.