Lu Xun, as well as any translator, was one of the essential elements in the translation process, which are the original text, the author, the source reader, the translator, the target reader and the target text (Waldemar, 2012). Many translation theorists pay special attention to translator’s subjectivity and have similar definition which is best proposed by Tu Guoyuan and Zhu Xianlong: The translator’s subjectivity, generally speaking, “is the initiative the translator displays under the constraints of other translation participants, external forces and his or her own horizons in the process of translation” (Tu & Zhu, 2003, p. 12). They also concluded that such kind of initiative is original, conscious, independent and purposeful, reflecting the translators’ artistic personality and their cultural creativity.
Even though in traditional translation theories, translators are reduced from the active subject of the translation process to the status of a faithful servant, they are the decider of the style, the connotation and even part of the underlying message of their translations (Lawrence, 2004). Thus in order to study Lu Xun’s rigid translation style, analysis in this thesis will be in accordance to translator’s subjectivity and its three main aspects. Main parts of this thesis is pided into two parts, with the second chapter introducing literature review of this thesis and the third, the chapter bares the most significance, analyzing subjectivity in Lu Xun’s rigid translation style. Comment on this style is also given in the third chapter and a conclusion is stated as the last part of this thesis to summarize the findings, the functions and the advantages of Lu Xun’s rigid translation style.
2  Literature Review
2．1  Historical Review of Translator’s Subjectivity
    Traditional translation theories place emphasis on setting ideal requirements for qualified translators, like Yan Fu’s famed principles of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, and some of these requirements are even idealized. Regardless of the importance of translator’s subjectivity, early translation theories like invisibility of translator even considered translator as a mere conveyor of information and an invisible medium (Gentzier, 1993). Few took the translators’ experience and character into consideration until the emergence of descriptive translatology, which lead to the prevailing of cultural orientation in translation studies and the popularity of translator’s subjectivity. As more scholars such as Xu Jun, Ding Li and Tu Guoyuan discussing translator’s subjectivity on the basis of their own understandings and translation practice experiences, translator’s subjectivity becomes increasingly more attractive and essential during the process of studying translations. 从译者主体性浅析鲁迅不通顺翻译的风格(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_26571.html