On English Versions Of Li Bai's Poems From The Perspective Of Aesthetics Of Translation

Being a special category of art, poetry translation is in agreement with literary creation, yet it has its own unique aesthetic principles, artistic content and skills. The author of this thesis believes that exploring poetry translation through the theory of aesthetics will help to better understand the activity of translation, thus having a profound significance in translation and providing practical guidance for poetry translation. Focusing on the aesthetic nature of poetry translation, this thesis analyzes the aesthetic objects (the original text and the translated text) and the aesthetic subjects (the translator and the reader) from the perspective of aesthetics. On the basis of the overall analysis of the features of Tang poems in general and the specific analysis of unique appeal of Li Bai's poems in particular, the author puts forward her view that some requirements are essential for poetry translators. They should not only be familiar with the characteristics of classical Chinese poetry, but also proficient in the requirements of English poetry. Besides, prior to the actual translation, poetry translators should spare no pains to understand and appreciate the original poem from various aspects, including the style of the poem, the writing background and the life experience of the poet, etc. Only when the translator truly appreciates the infinite beauty of the original poem could he reproduce it in his translation. On the basis of this analysis, the author also puts forth her viewpoint that in understanding the theory of "Three Beauties", one should distinguish between two concepts: the realization of the reproduction of the "three beauties" in broad sense and the failure of the reproduction of the "three beauties" in narrow sense. In addition, according to her investigation of Chinese and foreign readers, the author proposes a compensation method for poetry translation: providing an introductory text for the translated version, including the writing background of the poem, the life of the poet, cultural phenomenon and allusions in the poem, so that it can help foreign readers to better understand Tang poems and the profound Chinese culture, thus achieving the real purpose of translating Tang poems: to introduce the gem of Tang poems to more and more people and the Chinese culture to the world.The whole thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction in which the history of implying aesthetics into translation (both the theory of translation in western countries and traditional Chinese translation theories) and a brief survey of the development of classical Chinese poetry translation are introduced. Chapter two introduces some related theories. Chapter three and four are the key parts of the thesis. The former gives a minute analysis of aesthetic objects: the original poem and the translated version, focusing on the characteristics of classical Chinese poetry and English poetry and the evaluation of translation of Li Bai's poems. Aesthetic subjects: translators and readers, are discussed in Chapter four, including the role, the aesthetic perspective, the competence and the aesthetic activity of the translator and the importance of reader. Furthermore, an investigation of the aesthetic taste of Chinese and foreign readers is carried out. Chapter five is the conclusion of the whole thesis. By presenting some of her views, the author hopes that they could be a humble trigger of more valuable opinions and could offer slight help to the study of poetry translation from the perspective of aesthetics of translation.