On Translation Of Allusions In Shu Pu From The Perspective Of Thick Translation

Chinese allusions contain rich and profound connotations and they are the microcosm of Chinese culture and history.Allusions which are frequently used in Chinese classics carry much information about Chinese history and culture.As an important part of Chinese allusions,calligraphic allusions not only reflect calligraphers’ attitude toward life,their sense of aesthetics,and their understanding of Chinese calligraphy,but also convey abundant cultural information of calligraphy.In the context of globalization,dissemination of Chinese culture represented by Chinese calligraphy has become a national policy.In this case,translation studies of calligraphic allusions are of great significance.Shu Pu(《书谱》)by Sun Guoting,the famous calligrapher and calligraphy theorist in Tang Dynasty,is a masterpiece in cursive,and the text itself is one of the calligraphic classics.In Shu Pu,Sun frequently cited from other classics or ancient works.On the one hand,he used Chinese allusions to illustrate his thoughts on calligraphy copying,creation and appreciation;on the other hand,he resorted historical figures and their statements as evidence to illustrate his opinion on calligraphy.In these allusions,there are many anecdotes about ancient calligraphers who are well known in calligraphy circles.By reading the stories about the famous figures in history,readers have a better understanding of the historical status of the calligraphers,their calligraphy style,their attitude toward calligraphy and their thought of calligraphy,etc.To a large extent,these allusions make Shu Pu more colorful.And in the meantime,these allusions add cultural connotations to Shu Pu,but at the same time present a big challenge to the translator.The thesis discusses the translation of allusions in Shu Pu(《书谱》)from the perspective of thick translation.Thick translation is put forward by American translation theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah.Thick translation lies not only in description but also in interpretation.The application of the "thick translation" strategy not only presents the cultural and background information of the source text to the most degree,but also increases the "textual thickness" and "cultural thickness" of the English version,so Appiah(2000)also called it as "Academic Translation".Globalization requires the coexistence of diverse cultures and thick translation is also based on the premise of respecting and preserving cultural differences.In this sense,they fit in with each other.The analysis of the three translations respectively by Sun Dayu,Ch’ung-ho Chang Frankel&Hans H.Frankel and De Laurentis shows that the three translators take different forms of thick translation,and there is also the difference in the depth of cultural interpretation.As the carrier of culture,allusions reflect the uniqueness of the specific culture.To interpret the cultural differences embodied in the allusions,an adequate translator should make flexible use of the different forms of thick translation which are appropriate to the translation purpose.In the end,comparison of the three English versions of Shu Pu leads to the conclusion that De Laurentis’ can be employed as a model for translating calligraphic allusions for academic purpose.On the one hand,he takes the explicit thick translation strategy,giving detailed annotations about the calligraphers,historical figures concerned and the source of calligraphic allusions.On the other hand,he takes implicit thick translation strategy to guarantee,adding the relevant cultural information about the allusions to the main text,to see to it that the reading of the text is not distracted by the notes and annotations.So the writer gives some suggestions of calligraphic allusions translation in the light of De Laurentis’ translation strategies to provide reference for later scholars.