A Study Of Thick Translation In Ian Johnston’s The Book Of Master Mo

As a monumental work in ancient China,Mozi has irreplaceable significance in Chinese classics.There are more than ten English versions of Mozi.Among them,Ian Johnston’s The Book of Master Mo published in 2013 has been collected into “Penguin Classics”,whose success largely can be attributed to its pervasive thick translation phenomenon.Thick translation was put forward by American cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah in 1993.Thick translation emphasizes that readers’ understanding and acceptance of the source text can be greatly enhanced by “annotations and accompanying glosses”.Similarly,Paratext theory highlights that target readers can better comprehend and accept the source text by such supplementary materials as introductions,illustrations,notes and comments.Therefore,Paratext theory is widely introduced into thick translation studies.This thesis tries to probe into and analyze the forms and functions of thick translation in The Book of Master Mo under the guidance of thick translation and Paratext theory.It also explores the enlightenment of thick translation in the translation of Chinese classics.The thesis finds that thick translation in Johnston’s The Book of Master Mo can be divided into in-text thick translation and out-of-text thick translation according to Paratext theory.Specifically speaking,in-text thick translation consists of additions in the main text,comments and endnotes,while out-of-text thick translation is composed of introduction,note on the translation,diagrams and the book blurb.As for additions in the main text,the author finds that they are primarily comprised of three categories: grammatical additions,additions of cohesive devices and additions of Chinese core philosophical terms.In respect of endnotes,the author finds that they can be classified into five types,that is,proper nouns,cultural background information,explanations of the translations of some chapters’ titles,intratextuality and intertextuality.Then,the author explores the enlightenment of thick translation in translating Chinese classics from three aspects,namely respecting cultural heterogeneity,highlighting translators’ interpretation and subjectivity as well as reconstructing cultural context,further demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of thick translation in the translation of Chinese classics.