Translator's Consciousness and Historical Literature Translation

摘要

China's translation history enjoys a long history. Since the creation of writing, Chinese scholars have taken the issue of "standard" of translation as one of the central topics of research. Although there are different schools of China's translation theory, no signs of continuity have shown. In the process of argumentation of translation theories, either too much emphasis is placed on "literal translation" and "rigid translation" while ignoring the readability of the translated work; or too much emphasis is placed on the artistic value of the translated text while ignoring the value orientation of the original author. In the generalization process of the translation theories, the invalidity to justify core point failed to achieve coherence. Inadequate mention of cultural context leads to the "dislocation" between translation theory and translation practice. Translators conduct translation activities by "self-consciousness" without the guidance of specific theories. Since the 1960s, with the development and changes of historical theories, the form and content of historical texts have undergone fundamental changes, merging literature, philosophy, natural science, art and other elements, integrating into a comprehensive discipline. At the same time, the emergence of "linguistic turn" and "cultural turn" has redefined the research object, research category and research method of translation theory, providing necessary theoretical support for historical translation. Based on the translation theories between China and the West, combining history and translation practice, this paper puts forward the concept of "Affinity Theory" between translator's consciousness and historical translation with the purpose of providing a mode of feasibility for historical translation.