Debate over André Lefevere’s Theory of “Translation as a Rewriting†in China at the New Century: Retrospection and Reflection

Abstract

This article revisits the debates over Lefevere’s Theory of “Translation as a Rewriting†in China since the year 2000 from three perspectives: the historical and epistemological background of the Theory, differences between rewriting and translation, the contributions and limitations of the Theory. With thorough retrospection, it states that the disputes concerning the Theory arise from the divergences in scholars’ expectation horizons and academic stances. This study also illustrates that Lefevere’s Theory and traditional translation theories are complementary to each other in explaining the complexity of translation as a whole.