虚拟空间里的真实声音——斯蒂芬·米切尔《道德经》英译本读者网络评论研究

Authentic Voices in Virtue Space——A Research on Readers' Reviews on the Net about Stephen Mitchell's English Translation of Dao De Jing

本文主要从斯蒂芬·米切尔(Stephen Mitchell)《道德经》英译本的176篇网上读者评论入手,分析了米氏译文读者的主要阅读需求、读者类型及其对译文的接受情况。并且通过对12年间(1997—2008)读者评论的统计分析,揭示了米氏译文整体上在读者中有较好接受的事实和目前广大普通读者对译文的阅读爱好偏向。同时,作者特别点出了读者评论中所展示出的一种趋向:读者的转型,即从普通的注重实用的读者向追求文本本意的读者转变,这一方面说明了不同文化间交流的过程性,另一方面也说明了米切尔译本存在的价值和意义。

Based on 176 reviews on the net of the readers who have read Stephen Mitchell＇s English translation of Dao De Jing, this essay makes an analysis of their needs, types and reception of the translation. Also, this paper exposes the common readers＇ reading habits and the fact that Stephen Mitchell＇s translation, in a general sense, has a good reception through an analysis of the reviews in 12 years （1997--2008）. At the same time, the author points out a tendency, indicated in the reviews, of the transformation between different reader types, which speaks the existence of a process state in cultural exchanges and the value and significance of Mitchell＇s version.