Studies On Lin Wusun’s Translator Behavior Reflected In His English Version Of Sun Zi: The Art Of War Guided By The Theory Of Translator Behavior Criticism

SUN ZI BING FA,written more than 2,000 years ago,is a masterpiece of Chinese military wisdom and a brilliant cultural heritage of ancient Chinese military,which has exerted a profound influence on the world culture through its translated versions.Among its many English versions,translator Lin Wusun’s English version is very representative in academic circles.Taking his English version as research object,under the guidance of Professor Zhou Lingshun’s theory of translator behavior criticism,the thesis has undertaken a rather deep research on Lin Wusun’s translator behavior reflected in his English version.The theory of translator behavior criticism divides translator behavior into intra-translation behavior and extra-translation behavior.Intra-translation behavior involves translators’ truth-seeking behavior.Extra-translation behavior involves translators’ utility-attaining behavior.Translator behavior has the feature of dynamicity,that is,it will slide at the two ends of truth-seeking behavior and utility-attaining behavior that are at the two opposite sides of the translator,namely,the left one and the right one.Translators are close either to “truth-seeking” or to “utility-attaining”,but can’t reach absolute“truth-seeking” or “utility-attaining”,because both behaviors are beyond the scope of translation.The theory of translator behavior criticism provides a new theoretical direction for the study of translator behavior,which is different from the previous studies of translator subjectivity.Under the guidance of the theory of translator behavior criticism,the thesis has undertaken a study on Lin Wusun’s intra-translation behavior and extra-translation behavior,and then has made a systematic and comprehensive analysis of Lin Wusun’s translator behavior reflected in his English version of Sun Zi: The Art of War mainly from the following three aspects.First,the evaluation of the translator Lin Wusun’s truth-seeking behavior in intra-translation dimension.In intra-translation dimension,this thesis has studied how Lin Wusun,as a linguistic being,used translation strategies and translation methods to achieve the goal of truth-seeking.Second,the evaluation of Lin Wusun’s utility-attaining behavior in extra-translation dimension.In extra-translation dimension,this thesis has studied Lin Wusun’s motive and social background as a social being,and evaluates his utility-attaining behavior.Third,the evaluation of the rationality of Lin Wusun’s translator behavior based on“truth-seeking-utility-attaining” evaluative model of continuum.Based on a comprehensive study of Lin Wusun’s translator behavior,including his truth-seeking behavior and utility-attaining behavior,the thesis has studied the degree of the rationality of his translator behavior.Through detailed studies,this thesis has made the following findings.Firstly,in intra-translation dimension,in order to seek the truth of the original text,Lin Wusun has adopted appropriate translation strategies and flexible translation methods according to actual situation,which has made his English version have a high degree of truth-seeking.Secondly,in extra-translation dimension,Lin Wusun’s motive of spreading Chinese culture is the motive foundation of his translation of Chinese classic.His social background and his motive complement each other,which has made his extra-translation behavior reach a high degree of utility-attaining.Thirdly,on the basis of “truth-seeking-utility-attaining” evaluative model of continuum,the thesis has undertaken a comprehensive study on Lin Wusun’s translator behavior,including intra-translation behavior and extra-translation behavior.The thesis argues that: on the one hand,as a linguistic being,Lin Wusun’ translator behavior has conformed to the principle of “seeking-truth being the fundamental while attaining-utility being the orientation” in intra-translation dimension,which has made his version have a high degree of truth-seeking and a certain degree of utility-attaining;on the other hand,as a social being,his translator behavior has conformed to the principle of “utility-attaining being the aim while truth-seeking being the basis” in extra-translation dimension,which has made his English version have a high degree of utility-attaining and a certain degree of truth-seeking.On the whole,Lin Wusun’s translator behavior has a high degree of rationality.The significance of this study lies in: on the one hand,it can enrich the research of translator behavior criticism in guiding the English translation of Chinese classics to a certain degree;on the other hand,the research results of this thesis can provide reference for Chinese classics to go global further,and contribute to enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture.