On Translation Of Chinese Classical Poetry In The Perspective Of Harmonizing Translation Theory

Poetry is both the earliest form of Chinese literature and an important part of Chinese culture.Chinese classical poetry is concise in expression,harmony in sound,strong in rhythm,and neat in antithesis,therefore boasting of high literary value.At the same time,Chinese classical poetry,with limited words,reflects the social life and expresses poets' rich thoughts and feelings,thus having significant cultural and historical value.To some extent,Chinese classical poetry can be viewed as a perfect combination of literature and art.However,it is also the above-mentioned features that cause difficulties in its translation.For instance,the loss of beauty in form and connotation in poetry translation is inevitable.Nevertheless,the translation of Chinese classical poetry is vital to the propagation of Chinese culture and the diversification of world culture as well.As a new concept in modern translation study,harmonizing translation theory is a merging between translation and Chinese&Western philosophy.Translation is both the communication between two languages in thinking pattern,emotion,and culture and a process of harmonized transformation of the subject and the object involved to finally produce a harmonized target text,which accords with the characteristics and requirements of ontology.At the same time,translation can be viewed as a reflection of harmonized epistemology,in which the translator reads the source text attentively,touches upon its meaning through his or her own knowledge or experience,and finally conveys the meaning by employing appropriate words in target language.Moreover,translators are responsible for both authors(poets)and readers.On one hand,translators should respect and trust authors,understand the background,and convey accurately the meaning in the source text to the target text,on the other hand,translators should invite and encourage readers to understand the source text through the translation,which is a reflection of faithful attitude and ethics to translation.In addition,translation is also the appreciation of aesthetics,for the source text itself is a piece of fine art,and translators are required to reproduce the spirit of the source text through imitating its form and conveying its contents.This is a process of aesthetic harmonization.Finally,translation is not just a transformation of words but a dynamic exchange of two cultures.Through moderate absorption,Chinese culture can realize self-development and at the same time,contribute to a harmony and diversification of world culture."Harmony in diversity" is not only the requirement of a harmonious culture,but also a challenge for translation.To sum up,a new translation concept is developed through an organic integration of translation elements and views of harmony theory,which has an explanatory force for translation study.Based on the above concept,the paper believes that the harmonizing translation theory can also serve as a guidance for the English translation of the Book of Poetry.Under the harmonizing translation theory,this paper makes a comparative analysis of the translations of the Book of Poetry at home and abroad.Specifically,in the horizontal dimension,translators can achieve a harmonious translation in linguistic and non-linguistic levels by following the harmonizing translation theory,that is,this is the harmony between the subjects and the objects of translation.Firstly,translators develop a clear cognition of all linguistic elements and express them properly with target language.Then,translators demonstrate with target language the cultural information bestowed by these elements in source language.In addition,translators shouldn't ignore the artistic features bestowed by the source language and culture and manifest them through target language and culture.In the vertical dimension,translators can achieve a harmonious translation through communication with authors,invisible authors,translators themselves,and prospective readers,that is to say,this is the harmony among the subjects of translation.To begin with,multi-level conversion occurs between the translator and author,and the significance of source text is perceived and understood.Next,translators converse with the invisible author and understand author's intention expressed by means of this invisible author.Meanwhile,translators converse with themselves and remind themselves the responsibility and mission.At last,translators communicate with readers and let them decide the destiny of translated or targeted text.As a translation theory,harmonizing translation theory provides us with a multiplex perspective,which precisely accords with the trend of translation study-achieving a harmonious exchange and development between cultures through an equal dialogue between two languages.In the meantime,rooted in the Chinese traditional philosophy of "harmony theory",harmonizing translation,with the essential characteristics of harmony between the object and the subject,carries on the conflicts and fusion between translation factors on the basis of equality and harmony and achieves a continuation of the vitality of the source text,which is an endless creative process with strong vigor.Accordingly,it is feasible and valuable to apply the harmonizing translation theory to the study of English translation of Chinese classical poetry.