Aesthetic Origin of Translation Studies

This article reviews the development of Chinese and western translation theories. Firstly, it introduces the three stages of the development of Chinese traditional translation theory, namely, from the initial emphasis on “faithfulness” to the emphasis on “literary grace”, and then to the later debate on the priority on grace or content. Then, it focuses on the development history of western translation theory from ancient Rome to the 20th century, and summarizes two main periods, namely, the period of rhetoric aesthetics and the period of historical comparative linguistics. The former period began with Cicero, who was deeply influenced by Plato, and in turn influenced the later Bible translation and literary translation; the latter period was divided into two stages: before 1950s, it was mainly influenced by structuralist linguistics, and after 1950s, it was profoundly influenced by emerging language schools and modern ideological trends. Through these introductions, it presents the macro framework of the development history of Chinese and western translation theories.