Theoretical Approaches in Contemporary Studies on the Translation of Lun Yu: With a Review of the First Forum on the Translation of Lun Yu

As the representative of the studies on the translation of Chinese classics, studies on the Translation of Lun Yu (The Analects) possess rich academic values and cultural strategic significances.As a result of the revolutionary changes in social context and academic context, translation studies on Lun Yu has moved much beyond the naïve theme of “how to translate well” and developed into a problematique of cross-lingual interpretation of classics inviting and fusing multiple academic approaches.The continuous reconstruction of this “open text” in translation reveals its hermeneutic depth by nature.Paradigm shifts like the linguistic turn and the cultural turn in translation studies has generated many new approaches to the studies on Lun Yu translation:the linguistic approaches that are synchronic, descriptive and at discursive level;the cultural study approaches that are diachronic in nature, highlighting the culturally constructing force of translation and the problems of discourse, power and politics behind.Based on the fruitful speeches delivered by multiple scholars on The First Conference on the Translation of Lun Yu, this paper systematically reviews the roots, themes and methods in contemporary studies on Lun Yu translation.