Contents

Abstract..i

摘要...iii

Contentsiv

Chapter One Introduction...1

    1.1 The Purpose of the Research.1                  

1.2 The Significance of the Research......1

1.3 The Research Questions2

1.4 The Overall Structure of the Thesis.2

Chapter Two Literature Review.4

2.1 Cultural Soft Power...4

2.1.1 Soft Power..4

2.1.2 The Definition of Cultural Soft Power4

2.2 The Overseas and Domestic Research Concerning the Relation between Translation and Cultural Soft Power....5

2.3 The Skopostheorie....6

2.3.1 A Brief Introduction to the Skopostheorie....6

2.3.2 Three Basic Terms...6

2.3.2.1 The Skopos....6

2.3.2.2 The Translation Brief.......6

2.3.2.3 The Target Reader....7  

2.3.3 The Three Rules of the Skopostheorie...7

2.3.3.1 The Skopos Rule...7

2.3.3.2 The Coherence Rule.8

2.3.3.3 The Fidelity Rule..8

2.3.3.4 The Relation between the Three Rules...8

2.4 Translation and Cultural Soft Power..9

2.5 The Possibility of Studying Translation and Cultural Soft Power within the Framework of the Skopostheorie..9

Chapter Three Methodology.11

3.1 Foreignization.....11

3.2 Translation Methods..11

3.2.1 Literal Translation12

3.2.2 Omission.12

3.2.3 Shift.12

Chapter Four A Case Study of Anthony C. Yu’s Version of The Journey to the West..13

4.1 A General Introduction to the Source Text and the Target Text..13

4.1.1 The Source Text and Its Author...13

4.1.2 The Target Text and Its Translator..13

4.1.3 The Main Purpose and the Target Readers of the English Version..13

4.2 Case Analysis...14

4.2.1 Foreignization Strategy.14

4.2.1.1 Foreignization Applied to the Translation of Chinese Ancient Calendar.14

4.2.1.2 Foreignization Applied to the Translation of Chinese Idioms...............15

4.2.1.3 Foreignization Applied to the Translation Concerning Religion.....16

4.2.1.4 Foreignization Applied to the Translation of Terms that Show Respect......17

4.2.2 Application of Literal Translation.18

4.2.3 Application of Omission..20

4.2.4 Application of Shift.20

4.3 Summary...21

Chapter Five Conclusion...23

5.1 Major Findings.23

5.2 Limitations24

5.3 Recommendation..24

References...25 

On Translation and Cultural Soft Power  from the Perspective of the Skopostheorie:A Case Study of Anthony C. Yu’s English Version of The Journey to the West

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 The Purpose of the Research

According to Joseph S. Nye, soft power is to exercise considerable influence by one country over others with its rich cultural beliefs (Nye, 1990). Amid current international landscape, culture plays an important role in external exchanges. Accordingly, cultural export has become a burning issue for every country. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government has been making great efforts to translate Chinese classics into other languages for overseas readers (Zhang, 2015, p. 88). Liu Mingdong and Chen Shengbai (2012) state that translation, as a bilingual and cross-cultural activity, is an important way of cultural transmission, delivery and also one of the crucial factors in the promotion of the cultural soft power (p. 99).

This thesis takes up Anthony C. Yu’s English version of The Journey to the West as the target text on the basis of the Skopostheorie to do a case study, aiming to indicate how the translation is done to help foreign readers gain a better understanding of the traditional Chinese culture through the appreciation of The Journey to the West.