A Comparative Study Of English Translations Of The Three Word Primer

In recent years, along with the economic globalization and the reform and opening-up policy, the comprehensive strength of our country has been increasing and the international status of China has also been promoted, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to promote Chinese culture. Since the western countries are eager to understand Chinese culture, the Confucianism has caused wide public concern throughout the world, and the related Confucian works have also enjoyed great popularity. The Three Word Primer is a moderate textbook for learners and contains rich philosophic implications.The Three Word Primer is an ancient Chinese book for children to learn and read, written by Wang Yinglin, a scholar of the Nan Song Dynasty. It covers some major classical Chinese culture, the whole history of ancient China, as well as many famous legends and assiduous stories. The Confucianism is dominant in the book, which provides insight for readers to learn and study Chinese culture. So far, The Three Word Primer has been translated into many languages and spread overseas. From the British and American missionaries in the late Qing Dynasty, to many Sinologists and the contemporary Chinese translators, there have been more than ten English versions of The Three Word Primer.Based on the two selected English versions of The Three Word Primer, namely Giles’s translation in 1900 and Zhao Yanchun’in 2014, this thesis tries to do a academic research. By careful study of the two versions, some methodologies such as the historical research, the literature research and the comparative research are adopted in this paper. What are focused on the translation are vocabulary and sentences, the rhyme and the annotation. Meanwhile, according to the difference between the two versions, the author illustrates some important factors which influence the contents of translation from the time and space and cultural through specific examples.Through comparison, a conclusion can be drawn:The translation of The Three Word Primer is an important part of the cultural exchange between the West and China, which has played a role in developing the Chinese and the Western civilization; As a Chinese cultural classic, the translation of The Three Word Primer not only should conform to the source text, but also take the spiritual essence and the practical significance into consideration; In order to keep Chinese cultural characteristics, what translators should do first is to understand the intrinsic culture of one’s source language, then make good use translation strategies flexibly. Finally, the author hopes that the paper can give some implications of the further study of The Three Word Primer and make his own humble effort to promote Chinese culture.