The translator’s subjectivity in disseminating Chinese culture : a case study on the English translations of Cha Jing

• Main Author: Zheng, Han
• Other Authors: Cui Feng
• Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Humanities::Language
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142711
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

As the world’s first treatise on tea, Cha Jing (茶经, The Classic of Tea) written in China’s Tang Dynasty is the embodiment of ancient Chinese culture, featuring a collection of the essential Chinese philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Translating this ancient Chinese classic facilitates the spread of Chinese culture to the world, which has been conducted by translators both in and outside China. Since a translation is a translator’s conscious creation under certain circumstances, the translator’s subjectivity will inevitably affect the translation results. This thesis sets to explore the translator’s subjectivity in disseminating Chinese culture through a case study on two English translations of Cha Jing. One is produced by Francis Ross Carpenter, an American translator. The other is produced by Chinese translators Jiang Yi and Jiang Xin. This thesis will probe into the specific influential factors on the translators’ subjectivities in both translations and identify the representations of the subjectivities accordingly. It will then compare the cultures presented in the two translations to emphasize the role of the translator’s subjectivity in the dissemination of Chinese culture. The purpose of increasing the American people’s understanding about China is dominant in Carpenter’s translation, resulting to the use of domestication and the compilation of introductory articles and endnotes. The official and personal ideologies are leading factors on Jiang Yi and Jiang Xin’s (Jiang’s) translation, contributing to the use of foreignization and the addition of embedded notes in the text. The differences in the translators’ subjectivities lead to different cultures presented in the two versions, except the essential culture of seeking harmony and moderation. The culture presented in Carpenter’s translation emphasizes on rituals and the standard of beauty and purity. The culture presented in Jiang’s translation underlines simplicity and frugality. Hence, the translator’s subjectivity plays an important role in selecting the culture to be spread.