The Factors that Influence the choosing of criteria in translation

郑琼琼

Looking back over the history of translation of China， we find that， on the one hand， China has a long history of translation and the development of some translation theories； On the other hand， it is hard to find a systematic translation theory to guide translation practice although there are prescriptive explanations of how to translate. So what on earth should be the iron criteria in translation？

As far as I am concerned， the choosing of criteria of translation has much to do with the type of the original source.Yan Fu focused on philosophical works. Such works are usually strict and exact. Every single word is of great importance. Yan Fu requested that the target passage must be the full and complete conveying or transmission of the original content or thought. And you may understand that among the three principles why“Xin”is the most important one.But for Lin Shu， he translated mostly fiction.Lin Shus translation strategy is primarily embodied in his constant adaptation of the original to the perceived needs of Chinese culture and the acceptability of his translations to Chinese readers.

Not only the choosing of translation criteria has something to do with the type but also it is influenced by the historical background of that time. Let us take Lu Xun as a perfect example.Lu Xuns un-fluent translation is a case in point. People at that time were highly ignorant of outside world and seldom doubted Chinas central position. We can call this self-arrogance of ones own cultural complacency. However， when the translator becomes aware of the defect in certain aspects of his own culture ， this so-called cultural complacency in his mind will be undermined . Translators will show their concern about foreign cultures and give some respects to other cultures. Probably， they would go into the other direction---alienation， which is related to un-fluent translation rather than fluent domestication.

To sum up， there is no absolute answer to the criteria of translation. But no matter what type of your translation is， what historical background you are in， it seems significant to note that a good translation should play the same role in the TL as the original did in the SL. And this is a good translator should seek for..