A Comparison Of Mencius Allusions In The Four Complete English Translations Of Hongloumeng From The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

Hongloumeng is the pinnacle of novels in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Studies on the translations of HLM involve the extensive scope and objectivities.Particularly,studies of the four complete English translations(translated respectively by H.Bencraft Joly,B.S.Bonsall,D.Hawkes&J.Minford,and Yang Hsien-yi&Gladys Yang)are concerned.Mencius,as one of the Chinese traditional classics,profoundly influences the development of Chinese language and culture.There are 26 Mencius alluded to Hongloumeng in total,which plays an important role in the translation studies of Hongloumeng.Reception aesthetics highlights reader as the center of text acceptance in the chain of author—text—reader,which changes the previous norms of translation studies from the approaches of "author-centered" and "text-centered" to "reader-centered".Its major concepts including horizon of expectations,fusion of horizons and response-inviting structure of the text provide the theoretical fundament for this study.Under the guidance of reception aesthetics,this study analyzes the differences of their translating features and strategies of the 26 Mencius allusions in the four complete English translations of Hongloumeng.Furtherly,it explores how the translators shape the difference of the translating features among the four complete English translations.This thesis tends to supplement the comparative studies on the English translations of Hongloumeng and Mencius allusions.The analysis demonstrates that the translation is formed through the translator pursuing the fusions between his or her horizon of expectations and the original,and readers' horizon of expectations and the translation.The translators of the four complete English translations of Hongloumeng adopt different translating strategies based on their backgrounds and aesthetic experience,which varies the translating features that reveal mainly through the differences of filling the blanks,thereby enriching Hongloumeng translations.In addition,the translating features of the four versions are as follows:(1)Joly's translation fills the cultural blanks by adding many descriptions,which helps readers understand Mencius allusions better.(2)Bonsall's version pursues a word-to-word translation and an absolute equivalence of form,however,it neglects the blanks of the cultural connotations.(3)The translation made by Hawkes and Minford is smooth and concentrates on reader,which eclipses the charms of Chinese traditional culture and the exquisiteness of Chinese syntax.(4)Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang directly unveil the implied meaning of Mencius allusions based on their mastery of Chinese and English cultures and languages,but fail to fill the structural blanks of the relevant Mencius allusions.