On Creative Initiatives and Its Going Global of Eco-translatology
Hu Gengshen1,2
1.School of International Studies, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China 2.Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Abstract：As a systematic study of the theoretical discourse from ecological perspectives in the field of translation studies, Eco-translatology is an emerging eco-paradigm of translation studies. It describes and interprets translation activities in terms of the ecological principles of eco-holism, traditional Eastern eco-wisdom, and “Translation as Adaptation and Selection”. Furthermore, Eco-translatology approaches the phenomenon of translation as a broadly conceived ecosystem in which the ideas of “Translation as Adaptation and Selection” and of translation as a “textual transplant” promoting “eco-balance” are integrated into an all-encompassing vision. Finally, Eco-translatology reinforces contextual uniqueness, emphasizing the deep embeddedness of texts, translations, and the human agents involved in their production and reception in their own habitus. It is particularly encouraging in this increasingly globalized world to see a new paradigm sourced from East Asian traditions, but with universal appeal and applications, that adds to the diversity and plurality of global translation studies.As is known to us, after the linguistic turn in translation studies in the mid-20th Century, and the cultural turn in the late 20th Century, translation studies appeared under a global depression at the turn of the 21st Century since people got lost in the post-postmodern myth and setbacks. What is the next for translation studies? On the basis of the author’s observation and prediction, an ecological paradigm in the field of translation studies is tentatively expounded ever since. We have presented an inner logic sequence chain from translation to Nature, which both conforms to the general law of epistemic evolution of human beings and serves as an internal mechanism signifying the direction to the ecological paradigm. Then, the proposition is rationalized by the trend of external social and academic developments, especially the sweeping of worldwide ecological waves. Following the global context, as another important promotion to the ecological paradigm, the author’s proposition is substantially bolstered by the studies in the international translation circles, as well as the practical trial performance of studies and applications concerning the Approach to Translation as Adaptation and Selection, which both resulted from the ecological context on the one hand, and in turn, may also dawn upon the ecological paradigm on the other. Its significance of the ecological paradigm could be foreseen that upon crossing over the stereotyped boundaries between social science and natural science, it not only helps transcend the “post-postmodern” myth and depression, but also helps return to the traditional Chinese cultural essence. Besides, an ecological paradigm in translation studies initiated in China has, for the first time, helped make a turn for the better, since in modern times “translation studies in Asia have always been developed under the manipulation of the Western norms”; and “Asia serves as a slow imitator of the West in translation studies”.Eco-translatology, started up at the beginning of the 21st century, has stepped up to its “adulthood” (2001-2021). Discussed in this paper are the four creative initiatives, including: (1) The Sequential Chain; (2) the Eco-paradigm shift in translation studies; (3) the ecological disposition of the text to trans-live and re-live; (4) the Neo-ecologism and its ecosophy of translation. At the same time, efforts have been strategically made to help promote the development of internationalizing Eco-translatology by breaking though the weak link of theorization, seizing the momentum of ecological weaves, taking geographical advantages of East-Asian locations, and making the best use of the circumstances, and the like. It is pointed out that the practices and explorations of internationalization of Eco-translatology may not only shed light on the translation studies in China, but also offer an example for other related disciplines or research areas in social sciences and the humanities in their efforts of going global.
胡庚申. 生态翻译学的理论创新与国际发展[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2021, 51(1): 174-186.
Hu Gengshen. On Creative Initiatives and Its Going Global of Eco-translatology. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2021, 51(1): 174-186.
2021, Vol. 51 
