Comparative Study Of Translations Of "Xin" In The Analects Of Confucius From The Perspective Of Cultural Translation Theory

The Analects of Confucius is one of the classics of Confucianism, which is presented in the form of literary quotations and dialogue. It records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, focusing on Confucian political views, ethical thought, moral ideas and educational principles. The Analects of Confucius has been translated into multiple languages, of which translations into English account for the largest proportion.Researching how The Analects of Confucius has been translated has long been a major academic field of enquiry. Most of the research focuses on the translated versions, the translators as scholars, and history of translation with the issue of the culture-loaded words of The Analects of Confucius a principle area of contention and difficulty. Researchers adopt different translation theories, such as skopos theory, hermeneutic theory, functional equivalence theory and so on.However, few of the researchers cast their eyes on the culture-loaded word “Xin’ in The Analects of Confucius from the perspective of cultural translation theory.Susan Bassnett, a famous English translation theorist, considers that on one hand,translation is restrained by the cultural context of the target-language, which is called“manipulation”; on the other hand, translation can help in the evolution of a literature and a society, which is called “cultural construction”. Both perspectives form the core of her cultural translation theories. Applying Bassnett’s theories to three translation versions of The Analects by James Legge, Ezra Pound and D.C. Lau, this research describes and explains the key culture-loaded word “Xin” in the light of Bassnett’s concepts of ‘manipulation’ and ‘cultural construction’. It analyzes the translation activities of the three translators and shows how manipulation and cultural construction play an important role in translating ancient classical works.The research shows that culture can exert manipulation on translation. The existence of manipulative forces or powers in translation practice, primarily ideology, poetics and patronage,decide to a great extent what to translate and how to translate, meaning that the translator’s subjectivity exerts significant power upon the translation. Translator strategies are influenced by their different historical times, different ideologies, their poetics and patronage. Translator’s subjectivity appeared almost simultaneously in the translation activities. The choice of translation strategies is the embodiment of the translators’ subjectivity. This research also shows that translation plays an important role in constructing the target culture. Not only does it create an impression of the original text in the reader’s mind, but it is also provides a significant medium for translating cultural information. In this way, Bassnett’s concepts of ‘manipulation’and ‘culture construction’ are key perspectives to the study of the nature of translation.