A Tentative Study Of The Beauty Of Sound In The English Translation Of Classical Chinese Poetry

Poetry is the highest form of the expression of thinking. Classical Chinese poetry is one of the most splendid flowers blooming in the history of world literature. However, owing to many reasons, its translation is still a difficulty nowadays. The reasons are as follows. First, it is by no means easy to understand classical Chinese poetry. Second, metaphor is a predominant feature in poetry. Third, poems are poems because they have a set of strict forms to obey.As we know, English is the most widely-used language in the world and it is one of the noblest bodies of literature. And classical Chinese poetry is a great treaure our ancestors contributed to the world, so the English translaion of classical Chinese poetry is crucial and meaningful. This is the necessity of the translations of classical Chinese poetry. Poetry expresses wills. In this sense, no matter if it is a Chinese poem or an English one, the feelings are universal. And that is the possibility of poetry translation.Scholars throughout the world have been working hard on the theories and practices of the English translation of classical Chinese poetry. Xu Yuanzhong has put forward the the Three Beauty Principle. He said that a translated verse should not only be faithful but also beautiful, as beautiful as the original in sense, in sound and in form. Susan Bassnett is well known for her theory of "transplanting the seed". She indicates that poetry is translatable and the process of translating poetry is just as transplanting the seeds. And this thesis is mainly under the guideline of these two theories. Given that poetry is translatable, the author will focus on the beauty of sound. In this thesis, a comparative study approach will be adopted, the author will summarize some classical strategies and methods for transplanting the beauty of sound in classical Chinese poetry translation.Although there are more and more articles about classical Chinese poetry translation, not all of them are comprehensive. Hopefully, this thesis will serve as a modest spur, and more scholars and researchers will be inspired and encouraged to delve into systematic study on this subject and more effective strategies and methods will be applied to the English translation of classical Chinese poetry.