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A Study on English Translation of Chu Ci from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

Author: ZengHangLi
Tutor: ZhuoZhenYing
School: Zhejiang Normal University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: Zhuo Zhenying English translation of Chu Ci translation aesthetics similarity in form similarity in spirit translation methods
CLC: H315.9
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2011
Downloads: 173
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Abstract

Chu Ci is one of the sources of Chinese poetry and. in a broader sense, of Chinese culture. Breaking free from the form of Shi Jing’s four-character verse. Chu Ci has enhanced the expressiveness of poetry and exerted a great impact on the development of Chinese poetry. However, the study of its translation has lagged behind that of other Chinese classics.The present study attempts to explore Zhuo Zhenying’s English translation of Chu Ci from the perspective of translation aesthetics. Taking root in China, translation aesthetics bears striking national characteristics. As one of aesthetic propositions, the concept of "similarity in form" in combination with "similarity in spirit" plays an important role in constructing Chinese translation theories. Thus, the study with this theoretical perspective is feasible and meaningful.The main research method applied here is the descriptive approach. This thesis firstly presents a review of previous researches on the English translations of Chu Ci, and then gives a brief survey of translation aesthetics and the aesthetic proposition of "similarity in form" and "similarity in spirit". In the part of "similarity in form (rhyme, rhythm, and number of lines)", some lines from Zhuo’s translation are specifically discussed; while issues concerning images, artistic ideo-realm and sentiments are explored in the other part. Meanwhile, other translators’English versions of Chu Ci are also used for contrastive analyses when necessary. This thesis is not only to describe to what aspects has the translator pays attention concerning the "similarity in form" and "similarity in spirit", but also tries to induce how he has accomplished his translation.The study comes to the following conclusions:by ways of restoration, reordering, extension and substitution. Zhuo realizes the reproduction of rhyming in his translation; by means of reordering, substitution, abbreviation and punctuation, he reproduces the effect of rhythm; through approaches such as abbreviation adoption of synonymous words and expressions that have fewer syllables, information transferring, replacement of sentences with phrases, and the use of specific words, he successfully reproduces number of lines. At the same time, by literal translation, free translation, transliteration, and the combination of literal translation and free translation, he has faithfully reconstructed the images in Chu Ci;by empathy, he conveys the artistic ideo-realm; by rhetorical questions, modal particles, exclamatory sentences, and rhetoric, he has reproduced the sentiments in Chu Ci.From Zhuo’s translation, it is not difficult to see that translating poems in the form of poetry is feasible and necessary. If Chinese ancient poems are rendered into prose, foreign readers would not be able to know what Chinese poems are really like. Thus, it goes without saying that translators should deal with the problem of form and content in an appropriate way. There is no translation technique that is absolutely appropriate. Only by applying the translation methods in a flexible way, can translators maximize "similarity in form" and "similarity in spirit". It is hoped that the research findings might be enlightening to translators of Chinese verse.

A Study on English Translation of Chu Ci from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

Abstract

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