A Study Of Qian Zhongshu's Translation Thoughts

Qian Zhongshu's translation thoughts are mostly found in the following works: academic papers such as Lin Shu's Translation, A Chapter in the History of Chinese Translation, An Early Chinese Version of Longfellow's"Psalm of Life"and a Few Things Beyond,and China in the English Literature of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries; fragmental remarks such as A Historical Study of Poetry Translation in China, Yan Fu's Three Things to be Requisite in a Good Translation. The First Chapter of Translation Studies in China's History of Translation, and Far-Fetched Connotations of Transliterations; Notices and forewords to some (translated) works such as Critical Notice III,A Review of Imperfect Understanding, On Chinese Poems in English Rhyme, Preface to the Japanese Version of Fortress Besieged, Foreword to the Prose-poetry of Su Tung-P'o. All these works are mainly accessible in the following three books or collections: A Collection of Proses of Qian Zhongshu, A Collection of Qian Zhongshu's English Essays, and Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters. In addition, some of the correspondences of Qian with such men of letters as Fu Lei, Xu Yuanchong, Luo Xinzhang, Zhang Longxi, Zhou Ruchang, Xu Jingyuan and Li Jingduan deal with translation or its studies as well. Quite a few people hold that Qian's works on translation theories or thoughts are quantatively-challenged. Judging from the above statistics, we have to admit that it is not necessarily the case.As far as his contributions to translation studies are concerned, Qian Zhongshu is recommendable in three areas, namely, translation history, translation criticism, and translation thoughts. In the study of translation history, his most impressive work lies in the bold and effective verification of some translation events. To name a few, the very first English poem imported into China is Longfellow's Psalm of Life, Yan Fu's triple principle (fidelity, intelligibility and polished style) is nor derived from Tytler's three principles on translation (i.e. That the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work. That the style and manner of writing should be of the same character with that of the original. That the translation should have all the ease of original composition.) As to translation comments or criticism, his choice of the relevant translators, translated works and translation thoughts to be criticized or praised cannot be more careful, and his comments on Lin Shu's translations are especially penetrating and to the point. As for Qian's discussions about translation problems, their profusion of contents has been underestimated over the years. To the author's knowledge, his thoughts on translation have a wide coverage, mainly, its nature, techniques and strategies, relations with language, features as an art, the conveyance of the style of the source text, choice of the originals, ethics for translators, so on and so forth. The first three chapters of this dissertation will be devoted to Qian's contributions in the above three areas.Of Qian Zhongshu's translation thoughts, the most striking and far-reaching one is none other than huajing or sublimation, which is best embodied in the following frequently-quoted statement:"The highest ideal of literary translation is hua or sublimation, transforming a work from the language of one nation into that of another. If this could be done without betraying any evidence of artifice by virtue of divergences in language and speech habits, while at the same time preserving intact the favor of the original, then we may claim that such a performance has attained huajing or the ultimate of translation."As it has been one of the much-sought-after topics of translation scholars since its birth, this dissertation cannot let it unattended at all and then has one chapter to it exclusively. The contents involve the following things respectively: its sources, classification, categorization, specification and translation in English together with proper interpretations of the term huajing.The fifth chapter of the dissertation presents the author's understanding of and comments on Qian Zhongshu's translation thoughts. Three things are chronologically elaborated: Qian's attitude towards some so-called famous or systematic theories, features of Qian's translation thoughts in terms of both contents and ways of expression, and the underlying value of Qian's translation thoughts. Along with the rapid rise of Qian Studies both at home and abroad in recent years, the research into Qian's translation thoughts has recorded satisfying achievements. Yet frankly speaking, we still have a lot to do and a long way to go to see the potential value of Qian's translation thoughts. It is the author's hope that the present dissertation will trigger off more people's interest in this topic so that Qian's translation thoughts could find their way to more audiences in the future.