A Study Of Guo Moruo’s Translation Practice

Guo Moruo (1892-1978) was a distinguished translator who enjoyed high status in Chinese translation history. His translation activities lasted for nearly half a century. He devoted himself to the translation of novels, poems, dramas and many other works. He not only made a difference in literary world with his unique translation style, but also played an important role in cross-cultural communication. In view of his great achievements and effects in Chinese translation circle, literary circle and the whole society, it is of great value for us to conduct a research on his translation activities.With the "Cultural Turn" of translation studies, western translation studies have broken through the constraint of linguistics and have entered the field of cultural research. Andre Lefevere, one of the most important representatives of the cultural studies school, put forward the manipulation theory. He conducted translation studies under the macro background of language-culture; put a great emphasis on the influence of ideology, poetics and culture on translation.This thesis is a descriptive study. It aims to elaborate on Guo Moruo’s translation activities, their background and influence from the perspective of Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory.First, this thesis briefly introduces Guo’s translation practice in a diachronic way. Guo’s translation activities are divided into four periods. And it is found that Guo was engaged in translation for about half a century. He translated numerous works, which influenced the Chinese readers generation after generation. And it is also found that most of Guo’s translations were completed in the 1920s and 1930s.Next, it elaborates on the manipulation of poetics and ideology on Guo’s translation practice based on Andre Lefevere’s manipulation theory. On the one hand, Guo’s unique translation style was formed mainly because of his own poetics and the dominant poetics in his time. On the other hand, he helped to reconstruct the poetics at that time through his translation. And it is also found that both the mainstream ideology and his individual ideology exerted a tremendous impact on his translation purpose, his choice of the original text and his translation strategies.And then, it gives a detailed analysis of the influence brought by Guo’s translation activities. It discusses not only the influence of Guo’s translation on his transformation of world view and his new poetry creation, but also the impact of his literary translation on the spread of foreign literature in China, which fully shows the significance and value of the research on Guo Moruo’s translation practice.In sum, this thesis will help the readers to have a thorough understanding of Guo Moruo, and will offer better guidance to the readers’translation practice afterwards.