ABSTRACT

In her book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Ruth Benedict, a famous woman anthropologist of America, explored the features of and the causes for the Japanese shame culture. Long acclaimed as a necessary classical work for a study of Japanese culture, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword reveals the essence of Japanese culture and the difference between Chinese culture and Japanese culture from a unique perspective.

This paper, by contrasting the English original and the Chinese version of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, elaborates on the three cultures involved in translating the book, i. e. the American culture of the author, the Japanese culture she has studied and the Chinese culture of the Chinese translator. It is concluded that the three cultures involved form a complex cultural context that has a great impact on the translation of the book.

Keywords: The Chrysanthemum And The Sword; Culture; Translation

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two  LITERATURE REVIEW-3

    2.1 Studies at Home-3

    2.2 Studies Abroad-4

Chapter Three  THREE CULTURES IN THE CHRYSANTHEMUM AND THE SWORD-6

    3.1 Japanese Character as Portrayed in The Chrysanthemum and the Sword-6

    3.2 Three Cultures in The Chrysanthemum and the Sword-7

    3.3 Ruth Benedict’s Patterns of Culture Theory in The Chrysanthemum and the Sword-8

Chapter Four  TRANSLATION OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM AND THE SWORD AGAINST THREE CULTURES-9

4.1 Interaction between the Japanese and the American Culture-9

4.2 An Outsider’s Perspective on the Japanese and the American Culture-10

    4.2.1 Japanese concepts translated into Chinese-11

    4.2.2 English concepts translated into Chinese-12

Chapter Five  CONCLUSION-14

REFERENCES-15