A Study Of Xu Yuanzhong's Poetry Translation Thoughts

Classical Chinese poetry has all along been a dazzling pearl in the treasure-house of Chinese culture as well as that of the world as a whole. For the last one and a half centuries or so, scholars both at home and abroad have made significant efforts in the translation of the classical Chinese poetry. Quite a few of them have not only attributed excellent versions but also insightful views on translation theories. As for the translation in contemporary China, Xu Yuanzhong is definitely the most influential one, whose excellent versions of the classical Chinese poetry are well accepted and appreciated by readers both in China and overseas. He is the only master translator who has ever rendered classical Chinese poetry of different periods into English and French rhymed versions so as to be acknowledged as the leading translator in this field at home and abroad. In addition, Xu Yuanzhong proposed his own principles of classical Chinese poetry translation based on the summing-up of the traditional literary translation thoughts and his years'translation practices and summarized as"art of beautifulization and creation of the best as in rivalry", a further development of the traditional Chinese literary translation theories. His original thoughts on poetry translation, rich and profound, deserve our intensive and thorough study.This paper is intended to cover four chapters, introduction and conclusion excluded:In Chapter One, some basic knowledge is introduced about poetry and poetry translation. The term of poetry is defined, its unique characteristics different from other literary styles identified and analyzed, its degree of translatability discussed, and finally, different schools of translators are categorized.In Chapter Two, the aesthetic reception theory, a theory that is very thought-provoking to translation studies, will be presented. The translator plays a dual role in the translating process, that is, text reader and text producer. In the process, the translator first has to read the source text with"pre-understanding"and is trying to acquire the real intention and aesthetic values of the original author before he gives the fullest expression to his subjectivity and creatively reproduce the original spirit and mood so as to make target readers achieve real aesthetic experience.In Chapter Three, Xu Yaunzhong's most important thoughts on translation,"art of beautifulization"("Three Beauty": beauty in sense, in sound and in form; Three"-ization": equalization, particularization, generalization; Three"-ion": comprehension, appreciation, admiration) and"creation of the best as in rivalry"(4-R Theory) will be explored in detail and illustrated with examples. We will trace back to the origin of Xu's translation thoughts and make a comparison between versions so as to illustrate Xu's points of view. Since translation thoughts stem from practice first and then can direct practicing, a deeper understanding will be accomplished through appreciating Xu Yuanzhong's translation works.And Chapter Four concerns some of the author's personal ideas and reflections on Xu's translation thoughts, in which the author interprets his success from the perspective of receptive aesthetics, but in the meanwhile the author makes analysis of the limitations of his thoughts and theories. Generally speaking, Xu Yuanzhong's translation works turn out successful and his translation thoughts are instructional but there exist some limitations. In some cases,"beauty in sound and in form"is pursued by sacrificing the original sense; besides some concepts are too vague to and fuzzy to be operated easily and efficiently in translation practice. But that may be the reason why we should do research on it. Theoretical creation and exchanges with our theories will improve and perfect the theory which might be of greater value for future literary translation studies both in theory and practice.