Techniques of Translating A Watchful Distance by Zhou Guoping in China

Abstract

Abstract-Chinese philosophical literature is rarely introduced to foreign countries (Pohl, 1999, p. 303). Zhou Guoping, as a contemporary philosopher and essayist, has created essays with both depth and readability, and thus his works are deemed to be worthy of translation. This article aims to elaborate on the translator's techniques for transferring Zhou Guoping's famous collection of essays A Watchful Distance. Divided into four sections, this article uses actor-network theory as its theoretical framework and analyses the translator's position in translation activities from sociocultural perspective, gives corresponding translating techniques to problems related to creativity, conventionalised expressions, utterances and Chinese cultural elements in this book, and draws a conclusion upon the relationship between cultural homogeneity and corresponding translating techniques underpinned by actor-network theory. By discussing specific translating techniques used for Zhou's book, this article fills up the gap in the transfer techniques of A Watchful Distance to overseas cultures. However, the limitation lies in that the number of Zhou's works studied are restricted.