On Translation Of Artistic Features Of Yuan Sanqu

Yuan Sanqu,as the highest achievement of poetry literature in the Yuan Dynasty,is a new style of poetry that emerged after Tang and Song poetry.It is an indispensable part in the history of Chinese poetry development,as well as a valuable asset to the Chinese nation.Scholars at home and abroad have gradually deepened the research on Yuan Sanqu and its English translation since ancient times.Among them,Professor Wang Hongyin,a well-known literary translator in China,does in-depth research on domestic and foreign poetry.His 100 Yuan Qu Poems in English published in 2013 is the latest translation of Yuanqu in China which not only draws on the experience of predecessors in Yuanqu translation research,but also makes breakthroughs and innovations in his translation practice.It is a major achievement of the English translation and research of Yuan Sanqu,which is worthy of further study.This thesis analyzes in depth artistic characteristics of Yuan Sanqu,and then starting with Professor Wang Hongyin’s translation of 100 Yuan Qu Poems in English it studies translation principles and strategies Professor Wang adopted so as to find how the translator recreates these features different from former poems and lyrics.The thesis consists of five parts.Part one is the introduction that mainly summarizes the purpose,significance,main content as well as innovations and the framework of the study.Part two is a literature review,which mainly sums up previous researches on Yuan Sanqu at home and abroad,on the English translation of Yuan Sanqu at home and abroad,as well as on the English translation of Yuan Sanqu by Wang Hongyin.At the same time,their achievements and weakness are concluded.Part three analyzes unique artistic characteristics of Yuan Sanqu,including narrative tendency,the fusion of elegance(雅)and popularity(俗)and aesthetic feature of“witty sense”(机趣).This chapter also studies the translation principles adopted by Professor Wang Hongyin in dealing with these artistic characteristics:taking“Qu Yi”(曲意)as the core,reproducing stylistic features and targeting today’s foreign readers.Part four gives a lot of examples to analyze the specific translation strategies Wang Hongyin adopted under the guidance of the above principles.The principle of taking“Qu Yi”as the core is studied mainly through his translation of titles,names and personal pronouns;the translation of the feature——elegance through that of allusions,imagery and duality;the translation of feature——popularity through that of verbs and colloquial expressions.Strategies for translating the aesthetic feature are studied via his translation of textual forms and emotional expressions,as well as the method of absorbing Western allusions.Part five summarizes this thesis by recapping the core contents in previous chapters,pointing out the findings and shortcomings of the thesis.It is undeniable that Yuan Sanqu has its own literary characteristics.Therefore,the English translation of Yuan Sanqu cannot be completely equivalent to thoughts and theories of English translation of poetry.Therefore,exploring the English translation of Yuan Sanqu will undoubtedly provide multiple perspectives and practical methods for reference in this research field,so as to promote the development of English translation of Yuan Sanqu.