A Research On English Translation Of Liu Yuxi's Poems Meditating On Historic Events In The Light Of Ontology Of Language

This thesis discusses the English translation of Liu Yuxi's poems meditating on historic events. It intends to propose basic principles as well as as feasible strategies for translation based on the perspective of ontology of language -language is the ontology rather than a form or a tool- to guide the studies and operations of the English translation of classical Chinese poetry.Classical Chinese Poetry, the Gem created by Chinese humanistic spirit, is an artistic embodiment of Chinese history and cultural spirit. Tang Poetry is a glorious flower in the garden of world literature as well as a treasure of Chinese literature. A great number of Tang poetry has been translated into English so far. However, most of the translated poems are those of Li Bai, a Chinese poetic genius and Du Fu, a Chinese poetic master, whose English translated poems are as easy to obtain as if they are at your fingertips. In contrast, English- translated poems of Liu Yuxi are so rare that one can only encounter them in some English-translated anthologies of Tang Poetry. However, Liu Yuxi, a Noble-minded Poet, is famous for his exquisite skill in composing poetry which is of profound ideas in contrast with prevalent customs. Therefore, the author believes that the English translation of Liu Yuxi's poems and the research of it are of great value. Researches into the poet as well his works have been in vogue so far, and consequently, monographs concerning them have been generated. However, studies of the English translation of his poems are extremely rare. And these few studies have been undertaken from the aesthetic perspective invariably,of which his poem- On Bamboo - has been studies most.That Liu Yuxi has been thought highly of as"Noble-minded poet"is not only owing to his profound as well as unique thoughts, but also to the fact that he had put forward literary theories. His"Ideo-imagery originated from as well as surpasses imagery"(境生象外说) inspired by Buhhdism has been widely favored in the literary circle. Liu Yuxi is a poet of speculative philosophical points which render his poems meditating on historic events some rational spirit that serves as the ideological foundation of his poems in which he surmounted the former poems meditating on historic events which emphasize either on allegorical level or on voicing emotions and feelings. Although ups and downs constitute his official career, and he had been banished time and again, he did not sink into depravity, nor became slack, but stuck to his position. Poems meditating on historic events represent both his artistic skills and his firm reforming viewpoints, so it is the very reason or grounds chosen to study the English translation of Liu Yuxi's poems. In his poems meditating on historic events, he had earnestly practiced what he advocated,"Ideo-imagery in composing his poems originated from as well as surpassing the formal literary imagery".Classical Chinese poetry is especially splendid in Chinese culture which is extensive and profound in the well- established Chinese civilization. It is also a rare gem in the international Parnassus just as precious treasure to Chinese literary arena. Along with cultural exchanges between China and western countries, Classical Chinese poetry is also greatly favored by foreign friends, and as a result, both Chinese and foreign scholars have been devoting to translating classical Chinese poetry into other languages. Therefore, researches on the translation of classical Chinese poetry turn out to be a big issue. However, current researches on the English translation of classical Chinese poetry, all with no exceptions, make contrastive analysis of translated poems in the light of certain theories. Scanning over the current researches into the English translation of classical Chinese poetry, it is not difficult to notice that some of them are based on the philological paradigm of translation studies that place emphasis on the aesthetic features of translated texts, some are grounded on structuralist paradigm focusing on the linguistic forms and signs, and others from deconstructive paradigm that weighs upon decentralization and standardlessness. It is self-evident that the previous three study paradigms bear certain deficiencies. However, all of them simply count language as a form or a tool, therefore, it is a sheer impossibility that they could touch upon the essence of the English translation of classical Chinese poetry. Classical Chinese poetry,the extraordinary treasure in Chinese Parnassus holds abundant Chinese cultural elements and spirits in store since it is nurtured by brilliant Chinese culture. The purport of the English translation of it is to promote Chinese culture and the essences surrouding it. Thus, if the language which bears prolific cultural connotations is treated in a perfunctory manner, where does this leave its purport? In accordance with Sapier-whorf Hypothesis, language is the product of culture. The Pre-Qin period saw a flourishing and various schools of thoughts. The prosperity of the culture in Pre-Qin period just likes the circumstances in which Hundreds of flowers blossom and thousands of schools contend. Right in this liberal atmosphere for academic researches, the unique Chinese linguistic and poetic outlook, which has profound and far-reaching influence on the composition of classical Chinese poetry and Chinese language patterns, came into being. The classical Chinese poetry is the ontology of Chinese culture, and its philosophical poetics and poetic philosophy is the essence of Chinese spirit. Language and thinking, according to Sapier and Whorf, are interrelated. And the essence of Whorf's theory of the relation between language and thinking is as follows: thinking influences language, and language moulds thinking in turn, therefore, the two interact with each other. It has been developed by the author that Chinese poetic thinking paradigm bears the following three characteristics, namely, it is emotional, experiential and implicit. Naturally as well as actually, the language- Chinese- having been moulded by this paradigm also possesses these features.Language, has been regarded as the ontology either in"attaining the heart through language"(以意逆志说) proposed by the Confucian school or in Wang Bi's Theory of"Language-Image-Meaning". That is to say, both the Confucianist and Wang are obedient to"Linguistic Ontology"(语言本体论) which goes against the prevalent theory of"language as a tool". The ontological things mean that they can reflect things from metaphysical level and inquire about the intrinsic mechanism of things rather than being confined to superficial phenomena. In the light of Wang Bi's point of the relation between language and meaning, image is ontology, so image can perform the same function as language and meaning: reflect people's thinking. In brief, image as well as language can reflect the living conditions and thinking patterns, etc. of their users. In this study,"image"is the images in Liu Yuxi's poems meditating on historic events and"yan"is restricted to the allusions in the poems.Both imgaery, the soul of poems and allusions, the quintessence of language bear obscure gist, and the skillful employment of them can add flavor to poems. It is tough to translate imagery and allusions in poems; however, it arises to be a much harder nut to translate those ones in Liu Yuxi's poems meditating on historic event since they are the path for the poet's contemplation and meditation upon the world and lives. As"expressions loading specific cultural elements"(国俗语汇), the images and allusions in Liu Yuxi's poems meditating on historic events concern the transmission of Chinese culture. Having conducted analytical comparisons of different translated versions, the principle and strategies for handling the images and allusions in Liu Yuxi's poems meditating on historic events have been explored basing on the comparisons which have been carried out taking the argumentation of Sapier-Whorf Hypothesis as the point of departure.In brief, the English translation of classical Chinese poetry in the light of ontology of language epitomizes the English translation of classical Chinese poetry from the metaphysical level, and consequently develops its ontological epistemology and methodology of translation. Moreover, the above understandings by poem images can both avoid the dilemma of micro-level concern like wording and phrasing in translation which has no definite criteria but only bases on individual experiences, and avert being manipulated by some"over-mentalist"epistemology. And in this way, the spiritual implication as well as the cultural transmissions in translated version is guaranteed so that it would contribute more to the promotion and popularization of profound Chinese culture.