中国是诗的国度。作为中国语言的浓缩精华，诗歌承载着丰富的文化内涵。颇具盛名的李杜诗歌在世界范围内广为传唱并深受外国学者的喜爱，尤其是在说英语国家更为盛行。由于其所富有的文化底蕴，中国古诗英译开始受到人们的广为关注。
基于汉语的语言特点和表达特点，中国的诗歌翻译与美学有着天然的联系。古诗英译涉及翻译的多个方面，比如音美、意美及形美等等。然而，很少有学者从翻译美学的角度去解决诗歌翻译问题。所以本文试图从翻译美学的角度来探讨中国古诗英译。
许渊冲，作为中国著名古诗英译学者，已经成功翻译多首中国古代诗歌。他生平致力于探索翻译过程中的美学价值。因此此文选取了许渊冲释义过的例子，旨在以美学理论为指导，从而阐述中国古典诗歌翻译的特点。
China is a nation rich in poetry. Poetry, the essence of Chinese language, carries with it cultural information. The well-known poems written by Li Bai and Du Fu are popularized around the world and appreciated by many scholars abroad, especially those in English-speaking countries. And poetry always contains much cultural connotation. The English translation of ancient Chinese poetry has been always focused and lucubrated.
Based on the characteristics of the Chinese language and its way of expression, poetry translation in China is naturally associated with aesthetics. The translation of the ancient Chinese poems involves almost all the aspects in translation, such as elegancy in sense, sound and form. However, few scholars tackle the issue of poetry translation in the light of translation aesthetics. Hence, this thesis makes an attempt to explore the classical verse translation from the perspective of translation aesthetics.
Xu Yuanchong, a prominent scholar in ancient Chinese poetry translation, has successfully translated many classical Chinese poems into English. He is committed to digging up aesthetic values in the process of translation. This paper, with the help of the translated versions illustrated by Xu Yuanchong, is intended to expound the characteristics of Chinese classical poetry translation guided by the theory of aesthetics.
We look at the translation of Niao Ming Jian by Wang Wei firstly.
The source text:人闲桂花落，夜静春山空。月出惊山鸟，时鸣春涧中.
His version: I hear osmanthus blooms fall unenjoyed;
In still night hills dissolve into the void.
The rising moon arouses birds to sing;
Their fitful twitter fills the dale with spring.
The previous translation translated "依依" of "昔我往矣，杨柳依依" in the poem "采薇" of "the book of songs" into "softlysway" (with a slight swing) and translated "霏霏"of "今我来思，雨雪霏霏" into "fly (flying)". He didn’t appreciate this version at all, thinking that is no difference in the "artistic conception" with prose. Speculating on it over and over and his inspiration comes:"垂柳" in English is "weeping willow", which has the meaning of tearing. Along the "breakthrough", he put the "依依"into "shedtear", the tearful farewell feelings sending out naturally.
With the globalization further progressing, cultural exchange has become an increasingly important feature in international affairs. Nowadays, the integration of Chinese and Western cultures has become an inevitable tendency. However, how we manage to achieve the close and perfect combination of these two cultures is always the significant issue which needs further exploration from Chinese and foreign scholars in modern times.
In the English translation of Chinese classical poetry, though the opinions from Chinese and Western scholars originated from philosophy and aesthetics, there are obvious differences between them in essence, as well as the differences in the level of attention. How to utilize aesthetics in western culture to maximize reproduction of classical Chinese poetry characteristics in the process of translation is an important issue worthy of thinking, which is also an immediate and urgent problem needing to be solved. It is also the main purpose of the paper.
This thesis chooses Xu’s translation as the object, for his version represents one of the highest standards in the translation of ancient Chinese poems, and he has successfully translated many classical Chinese poems into English, always sparing no effort to reproduce aesthetic values. Based on the theory that poetry translation is actually a kind of aesthetic activity, this thesis attempts to probe into the classical verse translation from a perspective of translation aesthetics.
The research paper mainly endeavors to provide possible answers to the following questions:
What is translation aesthetics in essence?
How important is aesthetics in the translation of ancient Chinese poetry?
To give a clear idea of this paper, a brief account of the structure is displayed here.
Part one is a brief introduction to the research background of the thesis.
Part two is the literature review which introduces the previous studies on English translations of ancient Chinese poems.
Part three narrates the connotation of translation aesthetics.
Part four and part five are the main body. The characteristics of ancient Chinese poetry and the developments of ancient Chinese poetry translation are described in part four. In part five, the aesthetic features of Xu Yuanchong's literary translation theory and certain typical Xu’s English translations of classical Chinese poems are displayed.
Finally, part six is the conclusion that aesthetics plays a significant role in theoretical and practical aspects of translation. In order to make a translated text as perfect as possible, the author must have a clear understanding of the background and the implicated meaning of the context from the perspective of translation aesthetics. Meanwhile, limitations and suggestions for further studies are discussed as well.
From the study of the characteristics of the English translation of Chinese classical poetry in the perspective of translation aesthetics, it is not difficult to find the meanings of Chinese and English words are obviously different from each other under the background of the great diversity between Chinese and Western culture. It becomes harder to translate the classical Chinese poetry in the medium of aesthetics, and the translator tends to ignore the cultural and historical background in which the author and the artistic conception of the poem, making the translated text defected. In some works of literary translation, the translation of ancient poetry becomes even harder. Both the establishment of the context and the words connotation are the barriers requiring the translator to break through. Obviously, the translation of classical Chinese poetry from the perspective of translation aesthetics is an important research topic. There is no doubt that the studies of features of Chinese ancient poetry translation from the perspective of translation aesthetics have an active meaning, which will benefit Chinese ancient poetry greatly for it showing unique beauty in the western language.
Any kind of culture has its own unique characteristics. Translation is closely related to intercultural communication. We should flourish our traditional translation theories while learning from western translation theories, making Chinese peculiar translation theories from the perspective of China and western translation theories learn from each other and complement each other in order to guide translation practice better and make the cultural communication more comprehensive and effective. From the point of view of the studies of translation aesthetics, the following questions need to be studied: first, how translation aesthetics jump out of the narrow circle of literary translation and be applied to the areas of feasible, such as tourism, C-E Translation and so on. Second, the theoretical construction of translation aesthetics has to be further improved, and combined with practice to improve it. Third, the relationship between translation aesthetics and Western Reception Aesthetics needs to be further clarified. Fourth, how translation aesthetics leads Chinese traditional translation theory to format peculiar translation theories from the perspective of China and continue to move forward. |
