Reproduction Of The Artistic Conceptions In The Translation Of Song Ci-poetry Within The Framework Of The Figure-ground Theory

The figure-ground theory, which was put forward by the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin in 1915, stipulates that the subject's perception is usually constituted by two parts: figure and ground in which the figure refers to the highlighted part or the focus of attention in a cognitive concept, while the ground refers to the part with the function of foil which is intended to protrude images. Due to the reason that figure is more prominent or salient than ground in the process of perception, it takes the position of precedence in perception, which forms the cognitive basis of prominence. As the basic cognitive principle and cognitive mechanism,the figure-ground theory provides a theoretical basis for the reproduction of artistic conceptions in the translation process.The artistic conception is the poetic space which unifies emotions and reason, forms and spirit. It is not only an indispensable feature but also the soul of ancient Chinese poetry. Su Shi,who is known as one of the "Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties",achieves great attainments in the creation of artistic conceptions. Su Shi expresses emotions through describing concrete objects or combines feelings with scenery expressions in his Ci-poetry, in which different artistic conceptions are depicted, such as artistic conceptions of being magnanimous and broadminded, profound and faint, mournful and lonesome, etc. The unique merging of innovative artistic conceptions and emotions enables Su Shi's Ci-poetry to occupy a significant position in the history of Chinese literature.By adopting a descriptive-explanatory approach,the present study focuses on the reproduction of artistic conceptions in Su Shi's Ci-poetry in the following aspects: First, it explores the development and elements of the figure-ground theory; Second, it analyzes characteristics of artistic conceptions and the explanatory power of the figure-ground theory at various levels; Last, it expounds how the original beauty of artistic conceptions can be transferred in the translation process of Su Shi's Ci-poetry by way of the perception of figure and ground.The study indicates that sensory stimuli, choice of parts of speech and spatio-temporal structure of the figure-ground theory have a strong applicability in the reproduction of artistic conceptions of Su Shi's Ci-poetry. At the same time, study of artistic conceptions based on the figure-ground theory is not only beneficial to excavating ideological implications and aesthetic beauty of Su Shi's Ci-poetry, but also helpful for the readers to experience the extensive and profound Chinese poetry culture. Furthermore, application of the figure-ground theory into the interpretation of artistic conceptions in Su Shi's Ci-poetry widens the scope of the theory, and it offers much valuable enlightenment for other studies of reproducing artistic conceptions in the process of translation as well.