On English Translation Of Song Ci From The Perspective Of Genre Criticism

Ci is a literary genre which is unique to China with Song ci being the representative form of the genre. In the English-speaking world, there is a turn from the intermediate translation from other European languages to direct translation from the original Chinese into English in nearly a century’s English translation history of Song ci. The recent years have witnessed an independent growth in the specialized field of ci translating with considerable accomplishments through unwavering efforts by domestic and overseas translators, which also lays the foundation for translation studies of Song ci in particular.However, English translation of Song ci of a shorter history still doesn’t enjoy the same prosperity as Tang shi translation does with limited volumes and influence. In most cases, researches on Song ci translation have been carried out within the context of the macro-level view of the whole Chinese classical poetry. Therefore, some scholarly papers on a given topic of ci translation studies involve the translation discussion of shi and ci together. Inadequate in exploration of its own domain, translation history doesn’t even contain a single chapter on ci translation. Being a part of the generalized translation study of all the Chinese poetic genres, ci has not been treated as an independent genre distinct from shi since ci comes into the multi-dimension vision of translation studies with a diversity of approaches. Generally, translators and translation researchers tend not to differentiate ci from shi in translation and do not distinguish them in translating methods. There remain a lot of problems attributed to mixing of genres in Song ci translation for long, which also brings inconvenience for its translation studies.Out of concern for improving the situation, with Song ci chosen as the research subject, this thesis provides an integrated coverage of the translation progress of the genre. It is an introspective and systematic study of the existing problems of Song ci translation within the theoretical framework of genre criticism to examine the phenomenon of blurred distinction between ci and shi in translation and to analyze the translator’s involvement of literary genres in dealing with translation selection, adoption of translation strategies and translation evaluation from the perspective of the translator’s subjectivity. A formalist genre study of ci is conducted to investigate its distinctive generic features. Based on a formal analysis of the original and translated texts and comparison of various renderings in a case study, this thesis attempts to seek a way to reproduce the ci’s generic uniqueness in translation. As an independent literary genre, ci should claim a domain of its own and a genre-based mode of translation and translation studies of Song ci is proposed. Not following the given translation theory of poetry in general, a clear distinction should be drawn between the translation of the ci genre and the translation of the shi genre to reclaim the generic identity such as the tune name, title and preface, long-short line and stanzaic structure. Since the translator’s view of a certain genre is a major determinant of his translation strategies, the discriminating translation of the ci genre with effective and feasible strategies calls for endeavor and subjectivity on the part of the translator. Under the subjectivity exerted by the translator and guidance of the generalized translation theory of poetry, genre-oriented translation strategies and assessment criteria suitable for rendering of the ci genre should be advocated.Generally speaking, this thesis tentatively addresses translation studies of Song ci at the genre level in a broad sense, with a focus not on specific parts of single translation but on the general features of Song ci translation. Introducing a diachronic dimension into translation studies of Song ci, this thesis, designed with an analytic comparison, is to testify the significance of generic awareness and manifest the translator’s subjectivity, and to justify the applicability of a genological approach in its translation criticism. Far from being thorough and profound enough either in theory or in case study, this research is dedicated to promoting English readers’ understanding and appreciation of the ci genre and enhancing its generic status via translation. In the hope of encouraging critical reflection among translators and translation scholars, it also inspires new perspectives different from the traditional ones on both translation and translation studies of Song ci in the future.