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As a profound Chinese classic, Zhuangzi has exerted great impact on China and the whole word. It attracts scholars and translators both at home and abroad to study and translate it. It has been translated into many languages. There are 26 English versions.The diverse versions have a close relationship with the translator’s subjectivity, which plays an important role in the whole process of translation and exerts great influence on the outcome and style of each version. Translator’s subjectivity is a complex system, in which the internal mechanism (translator’s motivation, interpretation, prejudice, knowledge, competence etc.) interacts with external constraints (translator’s profession, nationality, era, socio-cultural background etc.).The thesis attempts to make a comparative study on three English versions of Zhuangzi, i.e. versions of James Legge, Feng Youlan and A.C.Graham, from the perspective of the translator’s subjectivity backing by skopos theory, theories of hermeneutic approach and manipulation school. In these three versions of Zhuangzi, translator’s subjectivity is fully displayed, which will be discussed and compared in four aspects, such as in the selection of SLT and translation strategy, the comprehension of SLT, and the expression of the TLT. It’s hoped that this study will shed some light on the research of Zhuangzi, and benefit the culture communication and exchange between China and other countries.Based on the study, the findings of the thesis are: Three translators exerted their subjectivities in the whole translation of Zhuangzi. Their translation motivation, profession, language competence, interpretation, social and cultural backgrounds all functioning together formed the system of translator’s subjectivity in the translation of Zhuangzi, and affected the outcome and style of each version.
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