References 18

1 Introduction

1。1 Research Background

Since 1970s, following the rising of the school of cultural translation in the west, the scholars put forward an original perspective for the translation theory。 Susan Bassnett was the most outstanding among them。 In 1990, Susan and Andre Lefevere edited the book Translation, History and Culture together。 They raised the opinion that translation studies should turn to a cultural shift , breaking the traditional concept, and thus bring the translation in to a new stage。 Bassnett (1990) insists that translation is the cultural functional equivalence between the original text and the translated version, therefore, translation is not merely a behavior of language。 However, it deeply roots in the culture of the language。 Bassnett’s cultural translation theory has promoted the progress of translation studies greatly。 In the 1980s, translation study stepped into the cultural translation era。论文网

1。2 Significance

The Three Word Primer, the classic primer for children to read in ancient China, is well-known for over seven hundred years。 The book covers a wide range of knowledge via three Chinese characters in each line and one thousand and sixty-eight characters all told。 The Primer not only includes the basic knowledge on education, ethics, astronomy, history and geography, but also that on the Confucian classics and famous historical figures, which makes it a virtual encyclopedia for children。 The Three Word Primer has been translated into different languages since the 17th century and has become an important material for foreigners to learn the Chinese language and culture。 The two most outstanding versions are translated by Giles。 H。 A。 and Professor Wang Baotong。文献综述

Through the analysis of the two English translations of The Three Word Primer, this paper probes into the effective ways in which different translation strategies are adopted to spread different cultures。 It also studies what kind of impact culture orientation has on the translation strategies of this primer。 Moreover, it presents some problems that hinder the translation of different cultures and provides suggestions for possible solutions。 

1。3 Organization 

This thesis consists of four chapters besides the introduction and the conclusion。 The introduction presents the theme and the basic structure of the thesis in a general manner。 Chapter one mainly discusses Susan Bassnett’s Cultural Translation Theory and gives a brief introduction of Giles。H。A。 and Professor Wang Baotong, their understanding of the source language culture, their cultural competence and cultural competence。 Chapter two is about literature review。 Chapter three introduces research questions and research design。 Chapter four analyzes the relationship between cultural orientation and translation strategies。 The conclusion sums up the thesis and enlightens its theme。 In the light of Bassnett’s Cultural Translation Theory, this thesis points out the adorable aspects along with the limitations in both two English versions and concludes that cultural orientation contributes to the practice of translation of the Chinese classics。