On the “Voice” Strategy in Translating Classic Narratives: A Description of the English Translation of Dunhuang Manuscript Confucius and the Boy Hsiang T'o

Classic narratives, as compared with any genres of writing, are richer in cultural information and more challenging to translators due to the fact that this type of narratives may pose a larger amount of translation problems. Nowadays, "thick translation" is a widely-adopted method or strategy in translating classics. However, the persistent use of this strategy may result in decreasing the continuity and unity of the narrative communication via the translation text. Given this, does a translator have any other strategic alternatives in translating classic narratives? How does s/he strategize the alternatives? These questions can be answered by means of a text-based description of Arthur Waley's English Translation of Dunhuang Manuscript Confucius and the Boy Hsiang T'o and other celebrated translations.