The Study Of English Translation Of Imagery In Yi'an Ci

Song Ci has important literature value and position in the history of Chinese literature. Li Qingzhao is universally recognized as the most remarkable poetess in the Song Dynasty. The research on her Ci-poetry is an important part of Chinese literary studies. Translation of Ci-poetry of Li Qingzhao has been carried out both at home and aboard. Based on the traditional Chinese literary theory of imagery, this thesis aims to make a tentative study on the transference of imagery in English versions of Yi'an Ci.The thesis is composed of five chapters. In the first chapter, on the basis of a brief review of the statements made by Chinese and western critics, the author gives a detailed illustration of the concept of imagery. Imagery or Yi Xiang is a unity of yi and xiang. Yi refers to subjective emotions, which involve the poet's feelings towards the objective phenomena. Xiang refers to the objective phenomena, namely, the objects in nature or our social life. And imagery refers to the picture formed in the mind created by poetic language. It is to arouse our imagination through a visual presentation of objects, persons and events. So it is a fusion of objectivity and subjectivity, sense and emotion, nature and self. Then, the thesis gives further explanation of imagery. Imagery can be first understood as objective images of concrete objects instilled with subjective emotions; imagery can also be viewed as subjective emotions presented by concrete objects; still, imagery bears strong cultural characteristics. As the soul of poetry, imagery transference has great influence on poetry appreciation. Different as translation schools may be, they all emphasize the retaining of the sprit of original imagery. Based on the understanding of imagery and the previous study of imagery translation, the author of this thesis points out three aspects in the reproduction of imagery at the semantic level:its denotative meaning, cultural connotations and emotional meaning, which should be transformed so as to retain the original imagery.Chapter Two discusses the imagery in Yi'an Ci. It is acknowledged that Yi'an Ci is refined and fresh, conveying infinite significance beyond the uttered words. There are three main features:vivid language, sorrow-provoking theme and rich allusions. Based on this, the thesis classifies the imagery into three categories:rhetorical imagery, symbolic imagery and allusive imagery.Taking the three aspects of imagery rendering into consideration, the last three chapters mainly choose three English versions of Yi'an Ci and make a tentative analysis of the transference of three kinds of imagery in these versions respectively and some methods have been summarized through detailed comparisons.Chapter Three mainly deals with the reproduction of rhetorical imagery. On the condition of good understanding of the original, the translator should convey the denotative meaning and emotional meaning of the original imagery and display the rhetorical style as much as possible. The translator can adopt the methods of literal translation plus amplification, free translation, particularization and so on.Chapter Four discusses the transference of symbolic imagery. Endowed with the profound cultural connotations, symbolic imagery is often the representation of certain emotions. Therefore, its cultural implication and emotional meaning should be transformed. The translator may employ such methods as literal translation with notes, transliteration with notes, and literal translation plus free translation.Chapter Five analyzes the treatments of allusive imagery. As allusive imagery bears the unique historical and cultural flavor, the translator should endeavor to transmit the cultural connotations beyond the denotative meaning. Some translation methods can be taken into account:literal translation with notes; transliteration with annotations; literal translation combined with illustrations.The conclusion provides the summary of the whole thesis and the limitations. The author hopes that the three aspects of imagery reproduction and the methods mentioned before will be beneficial to the imagery actualization. However, this thesis fails to dwell on the rhyme, thus further research should be done in that aspect.