Abstract:The Analects is one of the most famous works in china. It is dialogues and observations of Confucius and his disciples, through which the cultural allusions such as “ren” “yi” “li” and “junzi” reflect the Confucianism, the core of Chinese culture. As cultural exchange among countries develops, more and more scholars have been involved in the translation and study on the allusions in The Analects. However，scholars have various explanations of this work in different times. To introduce Chinese culture to the world, it is crucial to learn from a successful translation version of The Analects. So the author chooses the cultural perspective on the English translation of The Analects.

This thesis can be divided into four chapters. The first chapter simply introduces Confucius, The Analects and definitions of Allusions and culture. Chapter two is a literature review. This chapter covers the English translation of The Analects in history both at home and abroad. Chapter three first introduces Ku Hung-ming and James Legge’s translation versions. Then from a cultural perspective, it analyzes the translation strategies used in the two versions: foreignization and domestication. Foreignization means to retain the source language culture, which can get the readers to know the cultural difference, while domestication is a fluent style to reduce the strangeness of the source context. Finally it lists some translation examples of the two versions. Based on the comparisons, it concludes that foreignization is superior to domestication. Chapter four draws a conclusion that taking cultural factors into consideration, it is the foreignization that plays a leading role in translating The Analects into English, as foreignization can better preserve the uniqueness of Chinese culture.

Keywords:  The Analects  Culture  Translation  Strategy

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-4

1.1 Confucius and The Analects-4

1.2 Allusion-5

1.3 Culture and Translation-6

Chapter Two Literature Review-7

2.1 Western Scholars’ Studies on The Analects-7

2.2 Chinese Scholars’ Studies on The Analects-8

Chapter Three Translation on the Allusions in the Two English Versions of The Analects-9

3.1 Introduction of the Two Versions-9

3.1.1 Ku Hungming’s Version-9

3.1.2 James Legge’s Version-9

3.2 Cultural Comparative Study on the Translation of the Two Versions-10

3.2.1 Main Translation Strategies Used in the Two Versions-10

3.2.2 Cultural Analysis on the Two Translation Versions-12

3.3 Major Findings-13

Chapter Four Conclusion-14

References-16