A Construal Study Of Two English Versions Of Fu Sheng Liu Ji

As one of Chinese classics,Fu Sheng Liu Ji,written by Shen Fu,is an outstanding autobiography,revealing the life of a lower gentleman and showing the unique life attitude,values and aesthetics of the literator in the Qing dynasty.Until now,there have been four English translations,among which Lin’s version has been regarded as a classic,and the newest one translated by Graham Sanders has been popular among the West readers since it published in 2011.Therefore,these two versions are taken as the objects of study in this thesis.This thesis will answer the following research questions:(1)what translation strategies are adopted in each dimension of construal in the two English versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji?(2)Based on construal theory,why do the translators adopt these strategies in the translation process?This thesis intends to,based on construal theory of cognitive linguistics,study the translation strategies in the two English versions through analyzing translators’ construal operations.Construal refers to the cognitive ability to observe and portray a same situation in different ways and has four dimensions,including scope &background,perspective,salience and specificity.The thesis will analyze the translation in the two English versions from the four dimensions,so as to clarify the translation strategies and find out the reasons through analyzing the construal way.The thesis concludes that construal determines translation strategies and plays a significant role in the effect of translation.Studies on translation strategies based on constural theory through analyzing the rendering can help to explain how a translation is produced,from which translators can get inspired,and enhance the literature exchange between China and the West through the high-quality literary translation.