A Descriptive Study Of Chinese Buddhist Sutra Translation Criticism

Present studies and writings on Buddhist sutra translation(hereafter called sutra translation)are often case-oriented,which under most circumstances focus on a single translator or a single piece of translation discourse.Therefore,the researches feature fragmented.Specifically,many researchers ignore the intrinsic association of different translation discussions by different theorists on the same problem,which are different as time goes by.Moreover,theory as a perspective often indicates certain value orientation and thus is of the critical feature.Different from existing studies that explore translation theories or discussions by different sutra translation theorists separately,the study aims to bridge these discourses by revealing the association.In particular,this paper adopting translation criticism as the perspective explores how different sutra translation theorists think of the same theoretical problems,which called “objects of criticism” from the perspective of translation criticism.It further reveals the chronological evolutions of different theoretical discussions on different types of translation problems.Through this study,it is hoped that the knowledge of sutra translation will be deepened and the overall picture of sutra translation criticism will be revealed.In the end,this paper suggests that the current writing of translation history should also pay attention to that of translation criticism history.This research mainly includes the following questions:(1)What are the objects of Chinese sutra translation criticism?(2)How do the objects of sutra translation criticism extend?(3)Why do the objects of sutra translation criticism extend?Usually to make a research more operative,either a certain period or place would be chosen.However,this research in order to answer the research questions more efficiently and correctly uses the only available sutra translation data Zhongguo Foji Yilun Xuan Ji Ping Zhu,and based on which,descriptive method is applied.As a result,this paper has found translation problems relating to translation competence at the translator level,and linguistic style at the textual level are the main focuses in sutra translation criticism.Discussions on them go deeper and different translation critics have different opinions.Furthermore,the evolution of sutra translation criticism is characterized by more diverse and specific objects of criticism with more scientifically-based approaches.This paper argues that the evolution of the objects of sutra translation criticism is conditioned by many factors.Especially,translator,source text,translation venue,and translation poetics are regarded as main factors.The research significance of this paper is dual.Firstly,the theoretical significance lies in the development and status of Chinese translation studies,which further relates to the inside and outside of the discipline.Within the discipline,translation criticism history has been separated from translation history,which makes the studies of Chinese translation history more systematic and targeted.Meanwhile,studies of translation criticism history mainly aim at linking the translation criticism in the past with the translation criticism at present,ending the current research status with much focus on “the present”.In this way,it lays a solid foundation for Chinese translation studies as an independent discipline and further narrows down the gap between the new discipline and other long existing disciplines such as literature and linguistics.The practical significance of this research is that the dissertation advocates a methodology for writing Chinese sutra translation criticism history and even the whole Chinese translation criticism history.It is suggested that studies of translation criticism history should give the priority to various translation problems in Chinese translation history and give diachronic and comparative studies of the ideas of different translation critics on the same type of problems.On the basis of the historical studies,it is hoped that the translation problems and translation theories that are still valuable to modern translation studies will be identified.