A Comparative Study On Aesthetic Values In Three English Versions Of Bian Cheng

As a splendid nouvelle, Bian Cheng tells a beautiful love story happened in theauthor Shen Congwen s hometown in a lyric and artistic style, possessing rich aestheticelements of local culture and aesthetic values. Since literary translation is the artisticrecreation on the basis of literary creation, translation is in close relationship withaesthetics that it is equipped with general elements, consciousness and cognition ofaesthetics. Given the above, the present thesis attempts to conduct a comparative study onaesthetic values in three English versions of Bian Cheng in light of translation aesthetics.It mainly explores whether the description of aesthetic elements and features in BianCheng and its three English versions conforms to the cognitive system of Liu Miqing stheory of translation aesthetics. Based on the aesthetic elements in the original text, thestudy is conducted on the realization form of aesthetic values from the two aspects oftranslation aesthetic object, namely, the formal and the non-formal, combining with theaesthetic function of translation aesthetic subject. The outcomes of the comparativeanalysis are as follows: firstly, three of the translated versions have done a great job inrealizing the aesthetic values of the original text. However, the merits the three translatedversions revealed are different from each other. At phonetic level, Ching and Payne havedistinctive features as they perfectly realize musicality in their translation by keeping somerhetorical devices, especially alliteration; at lexical level, the Yangs worth mentioning thatthey translate the culture-loaded expressions in source text by literal translation withadding notes, hence local flavor and connotations of the expressions are successfully keptin their translation; at syntactical level, Ching and Payne s version are of significance thatparallel structures and repetitions are used to render the vernacularism; Kinkley s versionis of excellence in handling the non-formal aesthetic values both at imagery level and atartistic conception level as literal translation with explanation is applied and variousadjectives are used to modify images thus breathtaking landscapes are recreated and aesthetic values are realized. Secondly, the analysis also confirms the demands that TASshould meet. For one thing, TAS should be proficient enough in bilingual transference toguarantee the accuracy in contents and appropriateness in ways of expressions; for another,TAS should know well the connotations, characteristics, similarities and differencesbetween Chinese culture and English culture, so that he could select from all his optionsthe one that realizes aesthetic values of ST better or even achieve the perfect aestheticeffects in his translation. Moreover, the analysis explores the feasibility of applyingtranslation aesthetics to literary translation, which provides reference for translationappreciation and criticism. In addition, the analysis of abundant typical examples is ofreferential and practical significance to guide the future translation of Bian Cheng. On thewhole, this thesis tries not only to enrich the research on the original text of Bian Cheng,but also to provide a new angle of translation aesthetics for studying its translated versions;hence it is a meaningful attempt.