Abstract: Although studies on Arthur Waley's translation of The Analects have achieved a lot, they merely concentrate on either commenting on the translation quality or analyzing the impact cognitive background has on his translation from the cultural perspective.Few probes into the essential cognitive motivation behind the deviations in Waley's translation.Taking deviation as a starting point, this paper explores how the translator's subjectivity works on the understanding of the source text as well as on the translating process from such dimensions as scope, perspective and salience, within the framework of the principles of construal.It is proved that principles and methodologies of Cognitive Linguistics contribute a lot to the development and application of translation theories.