A Study Of John Minford’s Translation Of I Ching From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

I Ching,also known as The Book of Changes,has ancient language and elusive meanings.It has evolved from a divination book into a book of wisdom and philosophy.For thousands of years,the I Ching has been translated into different languages.And with the increasing influence of Chinese culture on the world,the I Ching is one of the important ways to spread Chinese culture as the leader of Chinese classics,so the studies on its translation become more urgent.This thesis adopts the methods of exemplification and descriptive translation studies to analyze Minford’s English translation of the I Ching from the perspective of Thick Translation.It is found that Minford divided his translation into the Book of Wisdom and the Bronze Age Oracle,helping to restore the source text of the 1 Ching in different periods and retain its two functions of divination book and reading book,which is the most representative Thick Translation method in this book.Besides,Minford carried out the Thick Translation in his translation using the notes and commentaries form of Chinese classics,providing explanations for the translation so that the Western readers could understand better.This is another distinctive method.Lastly,Minford also provided readers with a long preface,explanatory glossary and online footnotes to provide detailed prior knowledge,interpretation of terms and to ensure the fluency of reading.It could be seen that Minford adhered to the translation philosophy of faithfulness to the source texts,and his I Ching embodies the application of the Thick Translation throughout the whole translation,which together become the most distinctive features of Minford’s translation.Generally speaking,the application of Thick Translation in Minford’s I Ching is worth studying and spreading and of great significance for the translation of Chinese classics.