On Canon’s Changes in Translation from the Perspective of Foucault's Power Discourse Theory

The theory of power and discourse, which was put forward by French philosopher Michel Foucault, tells us that it's the authority, rules and hierarchy that determine the function of discourse power. However, the translation of the foreign literatures is a process of the manipulation of discourse power, where those historical and cultural factors such as political power, text system, ideology and poetics have a significant impact on selection, publication and communication of classical works. As the core of Foucault's thought, this theory reveals the inherent laws in canon's formation and its changes under the influence of social authority. In fact, the mainstream of discourse of right has played a major role in its changing process of translation and introduction of canon.