A Comparative Study Of Three Versions Of The Ananlects English Translation From The Perspective Of Gadamer's Hermeneutics

The Analects,as a major traditional Chinese classic and one of the most important works of Confucianism,has long been attracting the attention from translators and researchers home and abroad.It has been translated into more than forty languages so far and there are more than sixty versions in English.Previous studies on these translations,mostly on English versions,majorly focus on the pros and cons of each version,or case studies of certain versions,or the translation of certain words,etc..Few attempts have been made to analyze and discuss how translators may be thinking,how they may interact with the original text and with target readers in the process of translation.This study draws theoretical support from Gadamer's Hermeneutics in which translators are centered in the process of translation.This theory consists of three levels,historicity of understanding,the fusion of horizons and the effective history.Historicity of understanding emphasizes on translators' subjectivity in translation.Fusion of horizons focuses on the interactions between translators and their source texts,between translators and their target readers.The effective history centers on the changes in both translators'and readers'understanding to texts as time goes on.With the hope of conducting an in-depth research on the English translation of the Analects from the scope of translators and the aim at understanding how translators'subjectivity and the social backgrounds they are in may affect their translation,this study selects three versions of English translation of the Analects by Legge's(1893),Gu Hongming's(1898)and Lau D.C.'s(1979)respectively,and conducts a comparative study on these versions by applying Gadamer's Hermeneutics theory as the theoretical framework,specifically analyzing the translation of culture-loaded words and language styles,and discussing the necessity of retranslation of the Analects.This study has three main findings.First,translators' understandings of specific culture-loaded words are limited by their respective subjectivity,which is shaped by factors like individual experiences,time backgrounds and so forth.Second,translators'subjectivity does not have unlimited impact on translation.Fusions combined with translators',original texts'and target readers'horizons influence general language styles of translation,and fusions between translators and their target readers may be more influential than those between translators and source texts.Last but not least,the Analects needs to be retranslated.As time moves on,translators' subjectivity is changing along with reads'needs.Fusions of three horizons mentioned above always need to strike a dynamic balance.There is never a final version of the translation of the Analects.