A Study Of Botanical Names In The Translation Of Shijing In The Perspective Of Cultural Poetics

Shijing is the first collection of poetry in China. As the carrier of culture at thetime, vernaculars purposefully selected show the poets’ emotions and valueorientation. The study of vernaculars is an important part in the whole study ofShijing and is paid much attention to by researchers. Great achievements have beenmade in the past years. In order to promote the international dissemination ofConfucianism and increase the overall national strength of our country, the researchon Chinese classics translation needs to be energetically made.The study of Shijing translation is gradually growing in recent years and thistrend should be encouraged. From the perspective of the study type, five types havebeen undertaken. They are study of different translation versions, differenttranslators, translation methods, comparison of different translation versions andcomprehensive study. Foreign scholars have made an earlier research on it. JamesLegge put forward three principles on translating vernaculars: each translation of vernaculars should be well-founded; the translation of same vernaculars should beconsistently treated on different occasions; transliteration ought to be adopted interms of translation of places and names. Domestic research has also made someprogress on this point. Xu Yuanzhong ever made a relatively detailed comment oncertain versions of Shijing translation in history and Ezra Pound’s translation versionwas also introduced. We can see from the current situation at home and abroad that asolid foundation has been laid on research of Shijing translation. But on the whole,special research on translating vernaculars is still far from enough and needs to beconducted on a deeper and more comprehensive level.This thesis aims to study translation of botanical names in Shijing from theperspective of cultural poetics. It is expected to analyse the historical and culturalsignificance and aesthetic values as well by classified investigation of vernaculars inShijing translation.In the thesis, six chapters are used to illustrate related issues of botanical namesin Shijing translation. In chapter one, the author first gives a general introduction ofthe present thesis, including the research background, purpose, significance, and theoverall structure of the thesis. Then in chapter two, the author starts with the researchachievements both at home and abroad and gives us a brief introduction of currentsituations, laying a foundation for later study on translating vernaculars. Chapterthree makes a detailed analysis of vernaculars and their historical, cultural and poeticfunctions. In chapter four, the author first makes a general view of cultural poeticsand then points out that research on Shijing translation should be made from theperspective of cultural poetics. With the help of the above study, the author makes ananalysis of the historical, cultural and aesthetic significance of translating botanicalnames, and then gives a specific illustration of aesthetic values of translatingbotanical names. Chapter six first makes a summary of the main achievements of thethesis, and then points out the shortage and limitations of the present research.Finally, the author makes a prediction of potential trend of the study on translating vernaculars in the future.