A Comparative Study of Three English Versions of “Qinyuan Chun·Changsha” from the Perspective of Chesterman’s Models of Translation Ethics

Abstract

Mao Zedong is regarded as one of the greatest poets in China and his poetry are cherished as the treasure of Chinese culture. With the background of enhancing cultural confidence, many scholars have translated and studies on its English versions from different perspectives. However, studies based on translation ethics are extremely rare. Taking three English versions of “Qinyuan Chun·Changsha” as the examples, this paper attempts to apply Chesterman’s five models of ethics to explore how the translators comply with certain or some models of ethics according to different purposes and needs in the process of translation. It is found that it is difficult for translators to satisfy all the models in the meantime to gain an ideal translation. A good translator always knows how to adjust according to specific needs in order to make their translations readable and acceptable. Keywords—English versions of “Qinyuan Chun·Changsha”; Chesterman’s models of translation ethics; Comparative study