A Translation Study Of Kunqu Opera Based On The Theory Of "Three Beauties"

Xu Yuanchong is one of the most famous translators in the contemporary China. There are many studies on his translation theories and practices, mostly related to his translation of classic poetry. However, there is little research on his translation of Kunqu opera Chang Sheng Dian. Chang Sheng Dian is one of the most famous Kunqu operas written by the dramatist Hong Sheng which enjoys the poetic language and the beauty in sense, sound and form.The present thesis adopts the theory of “three beauties” to analyze the typical examples in order to find out how the three beauties are represented and whether the theory of “three beauties” can also be applied to the translation of Kunqu opera.In the first part, the author gives a literature review about Xu Yuanchong’s translation practices and theories, and the translation studies related to the English version of Chang Sheng Dian. Then the author gives an introduction of the theory of “three beauties”. In the case study part, the author tries to analyze the examples in three aspects: beauty in sense, sound and form. Beauty in sense requires study from four aspects: image, rhetoric devices, allusions and culture-loaded words. Beauty in sound is analyzed from three aspects: rhyme, rhythm and reduplicative words. Beauty in form is analyzed from three aspects: couplet, words repetition and length of line.Through the detailed study of the translated version of Chang Sheng Dian, the thesis shows how the three beauties are represented in the translation and proves that the feasibility of the theory of “three beauties” into the translation of kunqu opera. The author hopes that the present thesis will arouse the attention in the translation studies of Kunqu opera.