A Study On The Diversified Translations Of Junzi In Lunyu

As one of the most important Confucian classics in ancient China, Lunyu records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples in the Spring and Autumn period. With a wide range of contents, it is also the main document for the study of Confucius and Confucianism. Up to now, Lunyu has become one of the Chinese classics that enjoy most translated versions. The versions by James Legge, Arthur Waley, Ku Hungming and Lin Wusun are widely spread because of these translators’deep understandings of the original text and the relatively exact conveyance. Hence, those four versions are chosen as the analytical texts in this thesis among the large number of translated versions.As for the study of the English translation of Lunyu, there have been plentiful and substantial achievements at home and abroad. At the same time, diversity exists in research content, perspective and technique. In recent years, the study of the English translation of the key terms in Lunyu has become a hot topic in translation studies. With "Junzi" as the research object, this thesis aims at making a study on the diversified translations of this word. To achieve this goal, the author firstly makes a description of the meaning and understanding of Junzi, which shows there is diversity in the understanding of Junzi itself. Secondly, the analysis and description of the different disposals of Junzi in the four versions are presented and it is concluded that at present there is still diversity in the English translation of Junzi in Lunyu. Finally, according to the equivalence theory by Nida, the author makes a brief analysis of the translations of Junzi in four different versions from the perspective of various levels of equivalence. At last, the author holds the opinion that among all the diversified translations of Junzi in Lunyu, transliteration together with Chinese Pinyin---Junzi is the most appropriate translation which will make the unity of key term translation in Lunyu possible. Because Junzi, as a significant term in Confucian culture, contains rich meanings and it is hard to find the homogeneous one in English language system to translate. Thus, transliteration could better retain the rich connotations and Chinese cultural property of Junzi.In fact, the study on diversified translations of Junzi in Lunyu is of practical and academic significance. It is related to the shaping of favorable international image of China and the translation studies of key terms with Chinese characteristics. Besides, the study is the exploratory one that combines the research paradigms of descriptive and prescriptive translation studies. It begins with the descriptive analysis of the diversity of translations of Junzi, which includes the diversity of understanding, the embodiment and cause analysis. Finally, there is the prescriptive discussion---whether there is equivalent expression in English. The application of different research paradigms to the analysis of translations of Junzi reflects the fact that translation is a complicate and creative practice and there is a much wider research space in translation studies.