Lin Shu as a translator
Striking a balance between domestication and foreignization at the turn of the twentieth century
Published online: 11 November 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.20006.dai
https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.20006.dai
Abstract
As a pioneer of Chinese translation, Lin Shu groped for a way out of the dichotomy to achieve a balance between
foreignization and domestication. His domesticating strategies have enjoyed considerable attention from critics, whereas his
foreignization has so far been largely ignored. Mainly concentrating on his collaborative translation, Yinbian
yanyu, this essay opens a window to see Lin’s translation strategy as an inevitable mixture of domestication and
foreignization, and throws light on the contradictory nature of Lin, identifying him as both a defender and an opponent of
Confucian ideology, and as both an inheritor and an innovator of Chinese literary and linguistic traditions.
Keywords: Lin Shu, Domestication, Foreignization, Yinbian yanyu, late Qing
Résumé
En tant que pionnier de la traduction chinoise, Lin Shu a cherché un moyen de sortir de la dichotomie entre
l’aliénation et la domestication pour atteindre un équilibre. Ses stratégies de domestication ont attiré une attention
considérable de la part des critiques alors que son travail d’aliénation a été largement ignoré jusqu’à présent.
Se concentrant principalement sur sa traduction collaborative, Yinbian yanyu, cet essai ouvre une fenêtre pour
voir la stratégie de traduction de Lin comme un mélange inévitable de domestication et d’aliénation, et clarifie la nature
contradictoire de M. Lin, l’identifiant à la fois comme défenseur et pécheur de l’idéologie confucéenne, et comme
le successeur et l’initiateur des traditions littéraires et linguistiques chinoises.
Mots clés : Lin Shu, domestication, Aliénation, Yinbian yanyu, Dynastie Qing
Article outline
- 1.A period of chaos, a period of transition
- 2.A defender of confucianism and its opponent
- 3.An inheritor and an initiator of literary tradition
- 4.Struggling on the fringe, balancing between the two
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
References
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