A Descriptive Study Of The English Translations Of Chinese Classics Published In The Chinese Repository

Current studies on the English translation of Chinese classics are mushrooming,and those famous translated versions of literary,historical and philosophical classics have been their focuses.However,translations scattered among personal reviews,magazines and periodicals have gripped less attention.The Chinese Repository(short for the Repository in the following texts),under the superintendence of Protestant missionaries,is the first English periodical published in the mainland of China.Apart from reporting social events and conducting monographic studies,it has published abundant translations of Chinese classics.They further fall into various categories,which are no longer those Confucian works favored by early Westerners.Thus,studies on these translations will help to bridge the gap in researches on the translation of Chinese classics,and provide references for translation studies centering around English periodicals.In recent years,studies on the English translations of classics published in the Repository have been gaining popularity.Relevant papers and monographs usually from a macroscopic perspective,collect and then classify these translations,or from a microscopic one,clarify misunderstandings of the translator.It is a pity that both of them are not adequate since the former one merely ends with some lists and the latter fails to reach a widely-accepted conclusion owing to its limited materials.Since the Repository was born under a particular cultural background,though translators' strategies are varied,they have demonstrated a general tendency in their preferences for original works,purposes and cultural stances of translation activities.However,traditional prescriptive translation theories view these phenomena in vacuum,and hence are incapable of explaining them;instead,descriptive translation studies taking specific times,historical context and ideology into consideration,will offer satisfactory elucidations.The thesis bases itself on the concept of descriptive translation,adopting both quantitative and qualitative research methods,to conduct an in-depth,historical and cultural descriptive study of all the translations published in the Repository.First,all the translations scattered among 20 volumes,together with their corresponding Chinese texts are collected through scanning and network data retrieval.Furthermore,statistical analyses are carried out according to four parameters,including category,publication year,translator and nationality of translator.Second,first-hand materials including papers,monographs and memoirs of relevant scholars are widely consulted when describing representative translations.With translators' backgrounds,other scholars' quotations and remarks,as well as social-historical context taken into account,features and influences of translations,and cultural stances together with purposes of translators will be revealed.Conclusions are made as follows.First,the Repository has published the English translations of 80 Chinese classics contained in 113 pieces.They are no longer Confucian classics favored by early Jesuits or standard works praised by Chinese scholars,further falling into 15 categories including literary,historical and geographical works.Second,literary classics account for the largest proportion among these classics,and the number of these publications within each year is intimately connected with social condition.Besides,American Protestants missionaries are the most prolific.Third,translators adopt different strategies such as adaptation and literal translation,and favor works embracing practical information and reflecting social realities.Particularly,the fundamental goal of Protestant missionaries is to spread Christianity,but it usually breeds various forms in different contexts.Fourth,some translations have been quoted in textbooks or relevant studies after publication;however,the translation of certain classics embracing practical information has actually provided favorable conditions for Western powers to expand their interests.Thus,current translators should be circumspect in their choices and strategies when translating Chinese classics.