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A Contrastive Study of the Three English Versions of Tao Te Ching from the Perspective of Philosophical Hermeneutics

Author: LiFangJia
Tutor: HeWei
School: Chongqing Normal University
Course: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Keywords: Tao Te Ching English versions contrastive study philosophical hermeneutics
CLC: H315.9
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2011
Downloads: 186
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Abstract

Tao Te Ching, as one of the most outstanding Chinese classics, plays a critical role in Chinese culture and literature. Its charm has expanded all around the world through the means of translation. Within the last century, Tao Te Ching had been translated for numerous times, which makes it the most widely translated text except the Bible. Many scholars have already studied its English translation from various perspectives and have made great achievement to some extent. Since translation and philosophical hermeneutics are dialectically related, the study of the translation of Tao Te Ching from the perspective of philosophical hermeneutics is both meaningful and worthwhile. Therefore, this thesis, based upon the achievements that the seniors have made, attempts to make a contrastive study of the three English versions of Tao Te Ching from the perspective of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics. To be specific, it will apply three main concepts of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics—“historicity of understanding”,“fusion of horizons”and“the principle of history of effect”respectively to justify the coexistence of varied interpretations and correspondingly that of the different translated versions of Tao Te Ching, as well as the necessity of its retranslation. It concludes that the translation of Tao Te Ching is in fact an interpretation of the original. It means different to different translators from different historical periods; each translation exists for its own reasons and significances. It is translation that actually endows the original Tao Te Ching with its everlasting charm. Therefore, it is safe to say that Tao Te Ching is the treasure of every era and every nation, and only through the constant explorations and translations, can we approach the essence of Tao Te Ching. The innovations of the thesis lies in the fact that the mainline of the contrastive study in the thesis goes through such stages as being both macroscopical and microscopical, both abstract and concrete, with alternative focus on the“generality”among the translators at the synchronical level and“particularity”of the translators at the diachronical level. This kind of analysis makes sure the whole reasoning systematic and convincing.

A Contrastive Study of the Three English Versions of Tao Te Ching from the Perspective of Philosophical Hermeneutics

Abstract

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