Studies On The Translation Of Classical Chinese Poetry

Poetry is the superior form of literature. The history of poetry in China can be dated as early as the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.), or the time of Confucius (551-479 B.C.), who is generally recognized as the compiler of The Book of Songs. Classical Chinese poetry is characterized by its terseness in language, abstruseness in meaning, richness in imagery, sharpness in emotion, and distinctiveness in rhyme and rhythm.Difficult and complex as translation of classical Chinese poetry is, more and more scholars and translators contributed to this hard task. This dissertation introduces the origin and development of classical Chinese poetry at the very beginning. The prerequisite of the study on the translation of classical Chinese poetry is the controversial issue: translatability. The dissertation first expounds the translatability in general sense, i.e., the grounds of translatability and the limitations of translatability. The argument of the translatability could be proved from four aspects: (A) from the origin and development of language. Language is the carrier of thought. With the communication between different nations, people may share similar thoughts. Therefore, we can say different languages have commonness. This commonness laid the basis for the possibility of translation.(B) from the human being's physiological function and emotional responses. Human beings have same physiological function, but various emotional responses. However, people almost respond in the same way, or at least in the similar way to a certain specific outer stimulus. This is the foundation ofthe translatability of most literary works which contain various emotions. ?from the development of thought and the trend of intercultural communication. The improvement of society and the frequent intercultural communication could increase the translatability. ?from the translation practice. From the long history of translation practice, we can see that most texts, including literary works with strong artistic flavor, can be translated successfully. This is the evidence of translatability. However, the distinct differences between languages will surely pose great difficulties which can hardly be tackled or even cannot be solved. The difficulties always lie in two aspects: the national characteristics of language and the author's writing style. Some difficulties can be reduced or at least diminished, others cannot. This results in the limitation of translatability. This argument paves the way for the following discussion. Then, the translatability of classical Chinese poetry in specific is expounded through discussing the translatability of imagery, translatability of style of classical Chinese poetry. The dissertation proves that classical Chinese poetry is translatable in most situations; however, a few cases of untranslatability do exist. This is the relativity of the translatability of classical Chinese poetry.On the prerequisite of translatability in most situations, the dissertation further demonstrates the principles and criteria of translation of classical Chinese poetry. The research method is still from general to specific. The general principles and criteria in translation are introduced first. Then, among them, those specifically appropriate for the translation of classical Chinese poetry, i.e., Liu Chongde's theory and Xu Yuanchong's theory, are analyzed in detail.With comparative study, the author of this dissertation believes that Liu Chongde's "faithfulness, expressiveness and closeness" is the basic principle in the translation of classical Chinese poetry, while Xu Yuanchong's "three beauties" could be regarded as an ideal goal. His "New Translation Theory"(four-R theory) might be groundless and misleading.Translators play an extremely important role in the translation of classical Chinese poetry. They even influence the quality of their translations. A translator should be responsible for the author of the original work, responsible for readers and responsible for himself or herself. The...