A Contrastive Study On The Translation Of Li Qingzhao’s Tz’u From The Perspective Of Subjectivity And Subjectification

Poetry is quite personal in the sense that it is mainly written for the expression of the poets’personal emotions, feelings, attitudes, point of views, etc. Therefore, it is endowed with strong subjectivity. Poets resort to different linguistic devices to realize their subjectivity in their poetry, which is termed as subjectification. Consequently, poets’ subjectivity constitutes an essential part of the meaning of their poetry. Thus, in the translation of poetry, the poets’ subjectivity is of paramount importance to the success of a translation.This paper attempts to conduct a contrast of thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling by Li Qingzhao from the perspective of subjectivity and subjectification. The present paper is concerned with the following questions:(I) How the Tz’u poetess’s subjectivity is subjectified in the poem Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream)? (Ⅱ) How do translators cope with the Tz’u poetess’s subjectivity in the thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream)? (Ⅲ) How do we comment on the thirteen English versions of Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream)?To solve these questions, the paper will first make an analysis of Li Qingzhao’s subjectivity and subjectification in her Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream) from the three dimensions, perspective, affect and epistemic modality. Then, a contrast is provided among the thirteen English versions. Major finding through the contrast are as follows.First, the Tz’u poetess’s subjectivity is pervasive in Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream), which can be delineated in terms of perspective, affect, and epistemic modality. In detail, perspective of the Tz’u poetess is conveyed by the linear arrangement the lines“昨夜雨疏风骤,浓睡不消残�'。”,the tense in the line“试问卷帘人”and the deixis indicated in’‘试问卷帘人”,“却道海棠依旧”,and’‘知否,知否?”.Affect of the Tz’u poetess is conveyed by such adjectives, adverbs and verbs as’‘疏”,“骤”,“浓”,“却”,“肥”,“瘦”.Epistemic modality of the Tz’u poetess is conveyed by modal verbs“试问”and"应是”,as well as the line "知否,知否?”.Second, a good translation of Li Qingzhao’s Ru Meng Ling (Tune:Like A Dream), and possibly of all source texts, can be identified according to translator’s efforts to avoid their own subjectivity and reconstruct that of the Tz’u poetess in their translation. The so called "equivalence of subjectification" are idealized practice. Through the contrast of subjectivity and subjectifcation between the thirteen English versions and the original poem, no translation has achieved a total equivalence of subjectification along the three dimensions, perspective, affect, and epistemic modality.Third, comparatively, translations by Mao, Xu Zhongjie and Yang have been more successful in trying to reconstruct some of the poetess’s subjectivity in their translation.