Burton Watson's Translation Strategies In Po Chü-i:Selected Poems

Burton Watson(1925-2017)is the most representative scholar-translator in the circle of the contemporary American sinology.He has translated 28 books of Chinese classics in all,including history,philosophy,Buddhism scriptures and poetry.His contributions to cultural exchange between China and the West is remarkable.As far as poetry translation is concerned,he is the most productive contemporary translator in translating Chinese poems into English.He has a distinctive personal style in the translation of poems,taking non-professional readers as target readers,emphasizing the readability of the translation and trying to convey the original spirit of the poems.His translations are well received in the West and some of them are canonized in the process of communication.However,the existing research on Watson's poetry translation did not match with the great influence that his translation has exerted in the Western world.Watson has mentioned several times that Po Chü-i is his favorite poet.And Po Chü-i: Selected Poems is the only anthology of Po Chü-i's poems translated by Watson which condenses the strategies and thoughts of Watson's poetry translation.But there is no comprehensive and systematic study on Po Chü-i: Selected Poems and its translation strategies and thoughts so far.The author of this thesis recognizes the important value of the study of Burton Watson and the special significance of Po Chü-i: Selected Poems.First of all,this thesis introduces Watson's achievements in poetry translation and reviews the existing studies on his poetry translation in academic circles.And by reviewing Watson's learning experience and his translating career,this thesis summarizes several people who have influenced the formation of his translation strategies,including his supervisor Wang Jizhen and K ? jir ? Yoshikawa,his predecessor Ezra Pound and Arthur Waley and some contemporary American poets,such as Gary Snyder,Allen Ginsberg,Cid Corman and so on.Secondly,through a comprehensive analysis of Po Chü-i: Selected Poems and a comparative reading between Watson's and other famous translators',including Arthur Waley,Rewi Alley and David Hinton's translation of Po Chü-i's poems,the author summarizes the Watson's translation strategies in Po Chü-i:Selected Poems: 1)Using peri-text to shape Po Chü-i's image;2)Rationally selecting poems to show Po Chü-i's overall poetical style;3)Accurately conveying the original poems' meaning and images;4)Using free verses in contemporary American language but keeping the original poems' metrical beats;5)Adding necessary but limitedannotations.In my opinion,Po Chü-i: Selected Poems embodies Watson's translation thoughts of “Readers' Acceptance First” and “Resemblance in Spirit”.Firstly,the author makes a meticulous interpretation of Readers' Acceptance First shown in Po Chü-i: Selected Poems and explains its rationality and necessity in the global multicultural environment and in the context of Chinese literature going global.Secondly,the author adopts Xu Yuanchong's principle of “Three-Beauties” to expound the concrete connotations of his thought of “Resemblance in Spirit”.This study aims to give readers a deeper understanding of Watson's poetry translation strategies and thoughts based on the typical case of Po Chü-i: Selected Poems.In particular,the author also hopes that through the interpretation of Watson's translation thoughts of “Readers' Acceptance First” and “Resemblance in Spirit”,this thesis can provide enlightenment and inspiration for the future English translation of Chinese ancient poetry in the context of Chinese culture going global.