| Laozi,a great philosopher in China,is known for his masterpiece Tao Te Ching,which exerts a great influence on many fields,such as literature,philosophy,ethnics,politics and religion.Since its first English version came out,more than 180 versions have appeared,and it has become “the most frequently translated work next to the Bible”(Goldin,2002:183).Medio-translatology,with literary translation as its basic research object,is a study on the level of culture and literature.It not only studies the translated texts but also its transmission and reception.From the approach of medio-translatology,we can have a more clear understanding of Tao Te Ching’s translation,transmission and reception in the Western world.The translation of Tao Te Ching is not simply a text or literary translation,rather it is a translation,transmission and reception of Chinese wisdom and philosophy.Paying more attention to the Western reader’s response and the domestic scholar’s academic response of Tao Te Ching are conducive to the transmission and reception of Tao Te Ching and its philosophical ideas.Based on a review of related research on Tao Te Ching and medio-translatology,this thesis mainly studies the English translation and reception of Tao Te Ching from two aspects.For one thing,it includes a diachronic description of Tao Te Ching’s English translation.It can be seen that it has gone through three periods,namely,the period of Christianization,the period of Western adaptation as well as the period of diverse interpretations.Besides,it also summarizes the number of English translation versions of Tao Te Ching and the common ways of title translation at different periods.For another thing,this thesis focuses on a synchronic analysis of the reception of Tao Te Ching.By investigating Western reader’s review and ratings on Tao Te Ching in the Amazon,it is found that generally Tao Te Ching is popular in the West and plays an active role in their spirit and daily life.Looking back into the study of the English translation of the Tao Te Ching by domestic scholars in China,the translation of some key concepts and sentences and translator’s subjectivity are gradually studied and concerned by scholars.At the same time,it is found that the most popular versions studied by Chinese scholars are inconsistent with the most popular versions among Western readers and the five English versions most favored by western readers on Amazon all come from Western translators.The process of Tao Te Ching’s translation to the West is also a process for the Chinese culture going out.From the perspective of medio-translatology,this thesis focuses on the study of the translation,transmission and reception of the Tao Te Ching,with a view to making some contribution to the research on the translation effect of Chinese classical works. |
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