Jili Theory: A Study Of Shao Xunmei's Translation Poetics

Shao Xunmei(1906-1968)is an important translator,poet and publisher in the history of modern Chinese literature.As there is little attention paid to the study of his translation,the present dissertation makes a comprehensive review of his translation theory and practice.And trying to introduce Jili theory,which was advocated by him in writing and criticism of Chinese New Poetry,into translation studies,the dissertation proposes an overall as well as focused discussion and criticism on Shao Xunmei' translation theory and practice.During his lifetime,Shao Xunmei had translated a large number of works of foreign literature and discussed theoretically on translation and thus formulated a unique translation poetics of his own.His translation activities can be divided into two periods.The first period is in the 1920 s and 1930 s,and the second period is during the “Seventeen Years” period in the history of modern Chinese literature(from 1949 to 1966).In the first period,Shao Xunmei engaged in writing and translation enthusiastically and had introduced the ancient Greek poet Sappho(between 7th century BCE and 6th century BCE),Irish writer George Moore(1873-1958)and many British and French Aesthetic-Decadent writers into China and made a great contribution to the spread of Aestheticism and Decadence in China.In writing and criticism,he advocated the application of Jili and expounded his Jili theory on the New Poetry.In the second period,due to the special political atmosphere,he did literary translation as a means of living.The translation works during this period included Prometheus Unbound and Queen Mab by English Poet P.B.Shelly(1792-1822),and many British and American works of literary realism including works by Mark Twain(1835-1910)and Jack London(1876-1916).In translation,writing and criticism,Shao Xunmei advocated that we should “feel and comprehend physically” the exterior characteristics of a piece of writing.That is to say,he attached great importance to the cooperation between the exterior form and the interior meaning and significance of a text,and in this way he formulated his poetics featuring Jili Theory.The concept of Jili in literary criticism compares the physical characteristics of language to the texture on the skin.As the life and vitality of an organism are reflected on its skin,so the interior meaning and significance of a piece of writing are reflected in its exterior form.The same theory applies to literary translation,as both literary translation and writing belong to creative activities,and are faced with the integrations between form and content,theme and style,and other literary issues.Attaching great importance and emphasis on the form of a literary work and adopting an artistic viewpoint of anthropomorphism or animism can be seen as two basic principles of Jili theory.Applying the two principles to the study of Shao Xunmei's translation can provide a new perspective for an in-depth research of Shao Xunmei's translation theory and practice and as well can be seen as a preliminary exploration in establishing a concrete criterion and standard for the examination,analysis and criticism of literary translation in general.This dissertation is divided into six chapters.Chapter I is a short introduction.It briefly introduces the research background,gives a general exposition of all the literature concerning Shao Xunmei,especially the previously conducted researches into his translation.In this chapter,the two key words: translation poetics and Jili theory are expounded,and the significance and value of this study are pointed as well.Chapter II is about the methodology of the study.It mainly focuses on the application of Jili Theory in translation studies.Through a retrospection of the discussions on Jili in Chinese poetic theories and on “texture” in Western poetic theories,this chapter expounds on the basic connotations of Jili theory as a poetic theory and draws two basic principles from it.Jili theory could be introduced into translation studies,as both translation and writing are creative activities and face literary issues such as the integration between form and content.Chapter III,based on the principle of attaching great importance and emphasis on the form of a literary work,explores the achievements of Shao Xunmei's first translation period: the introduction and translation of Sappho and George Moore.Shao spent a lot of time and energy introducing Sappho's life and work,wrote the earlier articles on Sappho in China.His translation of Sappho's poems are characterized by strong passions and expressiveness.He translated George Moore's prose with a method of “retaining the spirit through the form”,thus his fluent and concise translation resembles the origin both in terms of spirit and form.Chapter IV continues to explore Shao Xunmei's translation achievements of the first period: the introduction and translation of British and French Aesthetic-Decadent writers,in accordance with the principle of attaching great importance and emphasis on the form of a literary work.The Aestheticism-Decadence,which deeply influenced Shao Xunmei's poetics,was a trend that worshiped the form of artistic works.Shao Xunmei had translated the works of a number of British and French Aesthetic-Decadent writers including A.C.Swinburne(1837-1909),D.G.Rossetti(1828-1882),Christina G.Rossetti(1830-1894),Aubrey Beardsley(1872-1898),Paul Verlaine(1844-1896)and Théophile Gautier(1811-1872)and so on.Although all of them belong to the Aestheticism-Decadence camp,each of them has their own distinctive features.Shao Xunmei's translation of those writers successfully reflects their features.Chapter V mainly explores the achievements of Shao Xunmei's second translation period in accordance with the principle of adopting an artistic viewpoint of anthropomorphism or animism.Poetry and prose are two different genres,and in translating Shelly's poems and Mark Twain and Jack London's novels,Shao Xunmei adopted different measures.Viewing from the perspective of Jili theory,the translations of Prometheus Unbound and Queen Mab are faithful to the original both in terms of theme and spirit,and the translation of Tom Sawyer,Detective and The Road are vivid and lively.Chapter VI is a summary.Firstly,on the one hand,from the different features of Shao Xunmei's two translation periods we can see the influence of the factors of time on translation choices;on the other hand,Jili theory as a literary theory approach to translation studies has characteristics of traditional Chinese literary criticism,and shows great flexibility in critical practice.Secondly,this chapter summarizes several points of contribution of this study and its disadvantages as well.Finally,it ends with a prospect for further researches related to this issue.