| Translation is a field full of paradoxes. Translatability and untranslatability are one pair of them. The paradox is rooted in the inevitable contradictions and difficulties arising from the process of translating and caused by the differences between national languages and cultures. Poetry, as the most concentrated and condensed form of literature, is the gem of a language and the crystallization of a culture. It is generally agreed that poetry is the most difficult genre of literature to translate, where linguistic competence alone does not suffice to guarantee the quality of translation. Tang poetry, as the pearl of Chinese classical culture and literature, is the reflection of traditional Chinese culture and is imbued with cultural and aesthetic connotations. This paper tries to explore the translatability and untranslatability of Tang poetry from the perspective of language function. The cognitive and expressive function forms the basis of general translatability of Tang poetry, while the cultural and aesthetic functions are the causes of untranslatability—the former leads to relative untranslatability and the latter "absolute untranslatability". Most of Tang poetry brings the readers with aesthetic appreciation and thus translators may feel it difficult to transfer. The author thinks we should look upon the translation of Tang Poetry with a dialectic view, which means, there is neither absolute equivalence nor absolute untranslatability. The matter of translatability and untranslatability is in fact the matter of degree of translatability of Tang poetry. Generally speaking, relative translatability and effective translation of Tang poetry are realizable and acceptable. With the study of Comparative Poetics, the translators and critics can make a thorough comparison between SL and TL in cultural and historical background and linguistic features. More important, it can be helpful for the translators and critics to break the limit of mold.
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