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The present focus on translation studies is shifting from inside language to outside language. Translation studies nowadays tend to be conducted under a broad historical and cultural context. This paper, in order to meet this international trend, tries to conduct a tentative research on two translated versions of David Copperfield of different times from the perspective of polysystem theory. Translation studies, for a long time, have adopted a prescriptive approach, mainly emphasizing the linguistic transfer, the criteria of translation and translation methods etc. The core of such an approach could be briefly summarized as how to translate or how translations should be done, but ignoring political, historical and ideological context, which make it impossible to judge and evaluate a translation fairly and completely.The polysystem theory, put forward by Even-Zohar, an Israel scholar, in 1970s, provides a brand new perspective for the translation studies, especially for the text assessment. According to Even-Zohar’s model, the polysystem is conceived as a heterogeneous, hierarchized conglomerate (or system) of systems which interact to bring about an ongoing, dynamic process of evolution within the polysystem as a whole. It can be postulated to account for different phenomena existing on various levels, such as language, literature, politics and ideology, so that the polysystem of a given national literature is viewed as one element making up a larger socio-cultural polysystem. In this large system, sub-systems totally take such different positions as a primary position or a periphery position. Translated literature, according to Even-Zohar, is a dynamic system, whose position in the whole literary polysystem has to be constantly shifted according to the different social situations, and subsequently exerts a considerable influence on the translating strategies or methods, and accordingly the development of the translated versions of the same source text.The present thesis, in the light of polysystem theory by Even-Zohar, attempts to
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