magazinelogo

Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Online: 2576-0548 Downloads: 750858 Total View: 5041150
Frequency: monthly ISSN Print: 2576-0556 CODEN: JHASAY
Email: jhass@hillpublisher.com
Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.05.019

A Comparative Study of Four English Translations of Six Records of a Floating Life from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

Yan Liu

School of Foreign Studies, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China.

*Corresponding author: Yan Liu

Published: May 31,2025

Abstract

The English translation of literary works has always been regarded as an important research field in translation studies, and excellent works possess high aesthetic value in translation. Based on Liu Miqing’s translation aesthetics, the paper compares four versions by Lin Yutang, Shirley Black, Pratt, and Graham Saunders, from the perspective of translation aesthetics, focusing on aesthetic elements such as the sound, images, symbols, and perceptual emotions. This study examines parallels and discrepancies between how the aesthetic subject interprets and replicates the aesthetic object in four current English translations of Six Records of a Floating Life. The analysis shows that translation aesthetics plays an important role in literary translation, and different translators apply various translation methods due to their different knowledge and background, which sheds light on translation theory and practice in the future.

References

Hu, G. (2013). Construction and interpretation of eco-translatology. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

Hu, X. (2024). Reconstruction phenomena in the English translations of literary works: A case study of four English versions of Fu Sheng Liu Ji. Journal of Changchun Normal University, 43(09), 98-101.

Lahiani, R. (2022). Aesthetic poetry and creative translations: A translational hermeneutic reading. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, (1), 1-9.

Liang, L. (2021). A paratextual study on Penguin version of Six Records of A Floating Life. Shandong Foreign Language Teaching, 42(02), 108-115.

Liu, M. (2005). An introduction to translation aesthetics. Beijing: China Translation and Publishing Corporation.

Tytler, A. F. (2007). Essay on the principles of translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.

Wang, X. (2012). English translation of Chinese culture-loaded words from the perspective of cultural schema. Journal of Shanxi Agricultural University (Social Science Edition), (10), 36-48.

Xi, Y. (1992). A comparative study of translation aesthetics. Nanjing: Nanjing Publishing House.

Zhang, J. (2016). A preliminary analysis of Lin Yutang’s cultural attitudes and his cross-cultural communication practice: With Fu Sheng Liu Ji as a case study. Shanghai Journal of Translators, (01), 71-75, 94.

Zhao, Y., & Li, F. (2023). A comparative study of Chinese and Western aesthetics in translation aesthetics. International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education, (02), 480-488.

How to cite this paper

A Comparative Study of Four English Translations of Six Records of a Floating Life from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

How to cite this paper: Yan Liu. (2025) A Comparative Study of Four English Translations of Six Records of a Floating Life from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science9(5), 970-976.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.05.019