Deformation Translation Of The Chinese Ancient Primer Classics In Chinese Repository

Carrying the glorious history of Chinese civilization,Chinese Ancient Primer Classics have shaped the excellent cultural and moral quality of the Chinese nation,playing an important role in the process of cultural exchange and dissemination.In the mid-19 th century,western missionaries translated and introduced the texts of primer classics through Chinese Repository,which had a significant impact on the dissemination of Chinese Ancient Primer Classics and traditional culture.It is of great academic value and practical significance to study the translation of the primer classics in Chinese Repository,so as to promote the international dissemination and development of the Chinese Ancient Primer Classics in the new era,further carrying forward China’s excellent traditional culture as well as enhancing its influence.The study of English translations of Chinese ancient classics published in Chinese Repository has gradually entered the academic field in recent years,the research objects being mainly focused on classical novels and Confucian texts.This study selects the translations of the Chinese Ancient Primer Classics for further studies under the theoretical framework of Antoine Berman’s “negative analysis” theory.The importance and necessity for translators to respect“Foreignness” in translation have been emphasized,so as to achieve the purpose of promoting cultural exchange,which provide a new perspective for current translation studies.The Chinese Ancient Primer Classics Santsze King and Tseen Tsze Wan are chosen as the main research objects,with the English versions of Chinese translators Wang Baotong,Zhao Yanchun and foreign translators Herbert Giles,Nathan Sturman as references.The comparative,qualitative and diachronic methods have been used to make the “negative analysis”.The deformation of Chinese Ancient Primer Classics in “expansion”,“qualitative impoverishment”,“the destruction of rhythms”,“the destruction of expressions and idioms” and “the destruction of linguistic patterns” have been examined at the three levels of vocabulary,sentence and style.The underlying reasons for the deformations of the translations are further explored.It is found that influenced by the linguistic difficulty,cultural differences,translation purposes and ideology,there is an obvious tendency of deformation in the translations of the Chinese Ancient Primer Classics published in Chinese Repository:(1)At lexical level,the deformation tendencies of“qualitative impoverishment” and “the destruction of expressions and idioms” exist,with the loss of richness and vividness of images and meanings in the original text;(2)at sentence level,the concise form and neat rhyme of the original texts have not been reproduced in the translations,resulting in “expansion” and “the destruction of rhythms”,with the loss of the “beauty of form”and “beauty of sound” of the source language;(3)At stylistic level,the fluent oral style of the original text,the noble persuasive tone of sentiment as well as the poetic and picturesque artistic conception pose challenges to translation,which is easy to cause “the destruction of linguistic patterns”.Combined with the educational function and cultural transmission significance of primer classics,this study explores the English translation of Chinese Ancient Primer Classics by taking Santsze King and Tseen Tsze Wan as examples.It is hoped to provide an effective reference for the current exploration of the translation norms of Chinese Ancient Primer Classics and the dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture in the new era.