1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

Skopos theory, as a branch of German functionalism, is a research method which focuses on function and lays emphasis on the purpose of the translation process. Some German scholars，like Katharine Reiss, Hans Vermeer, Justa Holz-Manttari, Christiane Nord have contributed greatly to the rapid development of Skopos theory. In the first phase of the development of Skopos theory, Katharina Reiss first introduced function in her book Translation Criticism. She brought about the initial shape of functionalism, connecting language function, discourse type with translation strategy. Later on, Hans Vermeer put forward skopos theory which is considered as the core standard in the functionalism and the translation process. He insisted that translation should conform to intra-textual coherence and inter-textual coherence. The intra-textual coherence refers to the inner coherence within the translation itself and the readability of translation while the inter-textual coherence means the coherence between the target language and the source language. He proposed that it is the translator who decides on how and when to complete his translation. Namely, we need to adopt different translation strategies for different purposes. A translator also has the right to make adjustments according to different translation purposes. In the third phase, Justa Holz-Manttari (1984) proposed the theory of translational action, further supplementing functionalism. In the last phase of the development of Skopos theory, Christiane Nord (1997) first used English to make a complete and systematic summary of functionalism. Additionally, she put forward the principle of function plus loyalty, thus completing the system of Skopos theory. The theory of functional translation was introduced to China in 1987. Nevertheless, remarkable progress was made in the study of skopos theory since then. Zhang Nanfeng (1995), Bian Jianhua (2008), Chen Gang and Hu Weijia (2004) all made respective studies of functionalism and Skopos theory, describing their views on literary translation, translation context and translation practice. In particular, Wang Nanshi (2008) elaborated on Skopos theory from the perspective of Marxism. Meanwhile, Xu Xiaozhou (2000) presented his view on Skopos theory from the angle of education. Bian Jianhua (2008) proposed his thought on skopos theory in his book Inheritance on Functionalist: Skopos theory of Translation, in which he mainly discussed how functionalism developed and how skopos theory evolved. Zhou Mengzhen (2006) applied the Skopos theory to evaluate the criterion of translation materials. Zhao Jin and Chen Yaming (2009) discussed the significance of the application of Skopos theory in the literature translation. The studies mentioned above contributed to the development of Skopos theory in China. Despite this, it remains to explored when it comes to how Skopos theory shapes the translation process. Although Skopos theory has received mixed reviews and criticism, it has the advantages of focusing on the readers#8217; feeling and explaining irregular translation activities. As for the study on the translation of Congcong, many articles have been published. Zhang Guowei (2013) conducted a contrastive research between the two versions of English translation by Zhu Chunshen and Zhang Peiji. The author makes a comparison between words they select in titles and language structure. She points out that Zhang did a good job when handling the logical sequence between sentences while Zhu recreated the perfect rhythm of the original text by using official sentence pattern. Notably, Zhu also applies the subjunctive mood so as to make his translation look more faithful. Mu Yanfang (2010) have proceeded from the angle named Translation as Adaptation and Selection. The author first makes a contrastive study about the three different titles used by three translators. She also analyzes how a vowel or a consonant will pass a comfortable feeling to the readers. Unfortunately, though Skopos theory was frequently applied to the general literary spheres, advertisements or tourism, it is rarely seen that Skopos theory is used as a research method to study Chinese contemporary prose. As a result, it is extremely meaningful and significant to apply it to the translation study so as to provide scholars both at home and abroad with a new angle to the translation of Chinese contemporary prose. Notably, Congcong, one of the most popular prose among Chinese people, is a landmark in Chinese classics. It is also found in the papers mentioned above that how the Skopos theory influences the translation process still remains unclear and inadequate. Since the former studies of Congcong were rarely carried out based on the Skopos theory, this thesis is committed to making a comparatively thorough evaluation of the three different versions of Congcong#8217;s English translation. Additionally, this thesis is not to make a judgement about which version is better, but to examine the factors that may have affected translators in the translation process.

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

Methodology The methodology applied to the essay is exemplification, comparison and analysis, aiming to find out factors that influence three translators when they did their translation. During the process of comparison, the thesis is about to showcase the advantage of skopos theory, namely, the usefulness and capability to achieve inter-textual and intra-textual coherence.