Translation Analysis Of Allusions In Political Documents From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Political documents reflect China’s political,economic and cultural life.Therefore,the study of the English translation of political documents is of great significance.A large number of sentences from Chinese classics are quoted in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China(Ⅰ).As a treasure of traditional Chinese culture,Chinese classics can successfully display the charm of traditional Chinese culture,and the English translation of Chinese classics is also of great research significance.Although the translation of Chinese classics and political documents has been paid attention to,the research on the translation of Chinese classics in political documents is not comprehensive enough.Based on the comparison between Chinese and English versions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China(Ⅰ),this paper discusses in detail the translation of the sentences from Chinese classics quoted by General Secretary Xi.Based on the content of the sentences quoted from Chinese classics,the corpus is classified into four categories:“country-governance”,“rules of conduct”,“doctrines of official” and other aspects.In this paper,the qualitative analytic method is adopted,and three rules of Skopos theory(the Skopos Rule,the Coherence Rule,and the Fidelity Rule)are taken as the theoretical framework.First of all,this paper analyzes the connotation of the original text and the intention of the original author quoting the sentences from Chinese classics,and discusses what philosophy of governance the sentences quoted from Chinese classics in political documents convey and what national image has been shaped.Then the paper also analyzes the translation methods adopted in translating the sentences quoted from Chinese classics in political documents.Taking three rules of Skopos theory as the theoretical framework,this paper explores whether the translation methods adopted can make the translation follow three rules of Skopos theory,that is,whether the function or purpose of the translation is the same as that of the original text,whether the translation makes sense in the target language,and whether the translation conveys the same meaning as the original text.Through the analysis,it is found that,for the translation of allusions in Xi Jinping: The Governance of China(Ⅰ),the translator mainly adopts five translation methods: literal translation,literal translation plus descriptive equivalent,generalizing translation,cultural equivalent,and annotation.Among them,literal translation accounts for 69.39%,and literal translation plus descriptive equivalent is the second most used,accounting for 17.35%,while generalizing translation,cultural equivalent,and annotation are used much less frequently.Literal translation is used most frequently,because literal translation can be faithful to the cultural image of the original text to the greatest extent,which not only improves the accuracy of translation,but also achieves the purpose of disseminating Chinese culture and conveying General Secretary Xi’s thought of governance.In this way,the Skopos Rule is followed.Literal translation plus descriptive equivalent can explain the connotation of cultural words and expressions in the original sentence,achieve the equivalence of the information level between the translation and the original text,make the content of the translation consistent with the original,and achieve the purpose of conveying the original author’s thoughts to the readers,which is consistent with the Skopos Rule.At the same time,literal translation plus descriptive equivalent can enhance the readability of the translation,and the readers can understand and accept the translation,which conforms to the Coherence Rule.Both literal translation and literal translation plus descriptive equivalent can make the translation faithful to the original text,which follows the Fidelity Rule.It is found that quoting sentences from Chinese classics in political documents has vividly conveyed General Secretary Xi’s people-oriented thought of governance,the way of being a decent man that values patriotism and self-improvement,and the way of being an official that values reverence for duty.What’s more,it has achieved a great innovation in international discourse,which not only helps Chinese traditional culture to move towards the world,but also better conveys China’s development concept and its domestic affairs and diplomacy to the world.More importantly,quoting sentences from Chinese classics in political documents has also created a positive national image for China.