루쉰(魯迅)의 번역활동과 번역방법 연구-경역(硬譯)을 중심으로-

Abstract

This thesis is to elucidate the characteristics of Lu Xun's translationtheory by reviewing his translation activities and translation methods. Lu Xun engaged in translation activities for 34 years from 1903 to 1936. This thesis divides his career into the exploration, the establishment andthe intensification periods, according as how translation activities wereconducted. The first period, the exploration period (1903-1908), was thetime when he tried to find his own translation style while mimicking thepopular translation trends of the times. The second period, theestablishment period (1909-1929), was the time when he adopted literaltranslation as his own method. The second period started with thepublication of 'The Collection of Overseas Novels' co-translated withhis younger brother, Zhou Zuoren. The third period, the intensificationperiod (1930-1936), was the time he opted for Rigid Translation fromamong the various translation methods. The publication of a literarycritique, 'Rigid Translation and Classification of Literature' marked thebeginning of the third period. Lu Xun defended Rigid Translation on theground that limits to Chinese language and translation capacity made itimpossible to render foreign cultures and linguistic senses intoequivalent Chinese. He argued Rigid Translation, which aimed to conveythe nuance of the original text, was inevitable even though it mightsound unfamiliar to the readers. He considered Rigid Translation thetranslation technique for the masses, saying that translating wasintricately related to the struggle between the working class and thebourgeoisie. In brief, Lu Xin thought that there was a compelling needto translate revolutionary literatures and literary criticisms of the timeand translated or sometimes retranslated them. He argued that translation should be literal to be easily understood while at the sametime preserving the nuance of the original text. He viewed that RigidTranslation was the inevitable method in light of the translationcircumstances of that time in China. He was of an opinion thattranslation criticism was called for to come up with a better translationand that translating should be done again and again continually.