A Study On Xu Yuanchong’s English Translation Of Lun Yu From The Sociological Perspective Of Bourdieu

As a celebrated contemporary Chinese translator,Xu Yuanchong has made outstanding contributions to the translation of Chinese cultural classics.Many of his translation works are viewed as classics,of which his English translation of Lun Yu is one of the representatives.The work enjoys a high reputation and is well received in the English-speaking market where the British and American cultures play a dominant role.Therefore,investigating the deep reasons behind its success will be of great theoretical and practical significance for the translation and dissemination of Chinese classics under the current situation of Chinese culture “going out”.Since the 1990 s,the increasing application of sociological theories into translation studies has become a new trend in the translation field.Moreover,Bourdieu’s sociological theory is cited most frequently among the theories of numerous sociologists.Field,habitus and capital are the core concepts of Bourdieu’s sociological theory and the theory breaks down the dichotomy of subjectivism and objectivism of traditional sociology,stressing the mutual construction between individuals and society.Hence,using Bourdieu’s sociology theory to explore the sociological factors of translators’ translation choices and probe into the relationship between the translator’s translation activities and the social environment will help to better interpret translators’ behaviors in the specific periods.The thesis probes into the translation process of Xu Yuanchong’s Lun Yu in light of the three core concepts of Bourdieu’s sociology respectively.Firstly,this study interprets the influence of various fields on Xu Yuanchong’s translation in terms of the social field,literary field,and translation field,finding that the translator’s choice at that time was closely related to politics,economy,and culture.As for the social field,entering the 21 st century,China’s rapid development attracted worldwide attention,so an increasing number of foreign people are eager to learn about China and simultaneously China also urgently needed to disseminate its cultural value to the West.Moreover,after experiencing the collapse of post-modern structuralism,western people began to look for the shelter of new beliefs and morality.Their demand reflecting in the literature field was the calling for the return of morality.Therefore,the theme of Lun Yu accorded with the value and pursuit of the western literature field in the early 21 st century,which was conducive to the acceptance and promotion of it in the western countries.Besides,in the translation field,due to the marginal status of Chinese,Chinese culture was always placed in the “aphasia” position,hence,Xu Yuanchong was eager to spread Chinese culture to rejuvenate Chinese culture and restore our cultural identity.Secondly,it analyzes the influence of habitus on Xu Yuanchong’s choice of selecting types of texts and translation strategies and how it is reflected in the translation of Lun Yu.Xu Yuanchong’s family background and academic experiences shaped his unique translation habitus.To realize the readability and fidelity of translation,his habitus prompted him to adopt the combination of foreignization strategy and domestication strategy in the translation process of Lun Yu.Lastly,the study probes into the role of cultural capital and symbolic capital functioning in the English translation of Lun Yu.Xu Yuanchong’s cultural capital benefited from the education he received at the Southwest Associated University and Université de Paris,which also laid a firm foundation for his entry into the translation field and enabled him to shoulder the heavy task of translating Lun Yu.The symbolic capital of Xu Yuanchong and the original text Lun Yu itself also greatly contributed to the success of the translation of Lun Yu.Based on the above study,the following findings are concluded: firstly,translation activities possess social attributes,hence,investigating translation activities from the macro perspective are conducive to interpreting the relationship between translation activities and the relative social factors like economy,politics,and culture,which will provide new illuminations for further translation studies.Moreover,when translators select translation materials,it is the value and uniqueness of original texts as well as the demand and social situation of the target country that translators should take into consideration primarily;besides,in the translation process,translators must be faithful to the original text and flexibly adopt various translation strategies to realize the readability and acceptability of translation to meet the anticipation of target readers;finally,translators must strengthen the exchanges and cooperation with original authors,publishers and publishing presses to make full use of their capitals in different fields to achieve the smooth accomplishment and accurate presentation of the translated work.