Comparative Literature: East & West

Series 1

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Approaches to Basic Concepts in English

Translation of Classical Chinese Poetry

Te-fu LI

To cite this article: Te-fu LI (2009) Approaches to Basic Concepts in English Translation
of Classical Chinese Poetry, Comparative Literature: East & West, 11:1, 111-119, DOI:
10.1080/25723618.2009.12015370

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 Approaches to Basic Concepts in English
Translation of Classical Chinese Poetry

LITe-fu
Maoming University, Guangdong

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Classical Chinese poetry, frequently praised as the treasury of native Chinese

culture, has long enjoyed a high reputation both at home and abroad. The issue
concerning English translation of Classical Chinese poetry has remained not only a
much debated topic in the field of translation studies, but also a controversial one
arousing numerous discussions from different perspectives. Especially, Chinese and
English translators, in rendering classical Chinese poetry, have formulated various
concepts or guidelines, thus producing different strategies and versions. Although
these concepts more or less differ from one another, some similarities can still be
drawn out, and even up to now, a few of them remain quite popular in poetry
translation. What follows, merely focusing on four concepts shared and often
employed by Chinese and English translators, attempts to make a careful analysis of
them.

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 1. Translation as reproduction of the original spirit or beauty
As a matter of fact, reproduction, spirit and beauty are the traditional terms
frequently mentioned in the western and Chinese histories of translation studies. So
far as poetry translation is concerned, "the poem is a means, a spiritual statement,
which is not, however, an end" (Yves Bonnefoy, 1992:187-188), and the poetic
spirit or beauty is always a major concern of the translators. John Denham once said,
"poetry is of so subtle a spirit, that, in pouring out of one language into another, it
will all evaporate; and, if a new spirit be not added in the transfusion, there will
remain nothing but a caput mortuum" (Dryden, 1992:20). And Rossetti argued,
"The only true motive for putting poetry into a fresh language must be to endow a
fresh nation, as far as possible, with one more possession of beauty" (1992:65).
As for classical Chinese poetry, "it is the vehicle to which the Chinese have
entrusted their profoundest and most heartfelt utterances, the form that has come to
be recognized as characteristic of the Chinese poetic spirit at its greatest"(Watson,
1971 :1). In English translation of classical Chinese poetry, due to the aesthetic
functions of poetic language, striving to reproduce the poetic beauty or spirit has
turned out to be a common goal and guideline for most Chinese and English
translators, and there are too many such examples to enumerate. Take Rewi Alley's
translations of classical Chinese poetry for example, "these translations are faithful
to both the spirit and the letter of the originals" (Mao Dun, 1983:3), and "Rewi
Alley's translations pay less heed to the form than to the spirit of the original
poems"(Mao Dun,l983:3). While in Chinese translators' eyes, aesthetic claim is of
paramount importance, it is widely acknowledged that without spirit or beauty,
there would be no poetry and poetry translation at all. Compared with non-poetic
translation, poetry translation means more than mere communication of
information.
In general, spirit or beauty symbolizes the force or energy of language, which is a
very generalized and abstract concept covering the whole aesthetic qualities and
values of the poetic language. According to Leech, a famous English linguist,
language may be divided into three strata, namely, semantics, form and realization
( 1969:3 7). Chinese language is invariably monosyllabic, which consists of three
components: meaning, form and sound. It is often supposed that semantic, visual
and auditory aspects of Chinese language have greatly contributed to the aesthetic
qualities of Chinese poetry. Therefore, in order to reproduce the original spirit or

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 beauty, the translators have to decide on what kind of beauty or spirit should be
transposed, for Chinese poetic beauty or spirit, at least, lies in three dimensions of
sense, sound and form. In this respect, translators have held different viewpoints.
Generally speaking, most English translators have attached great importance to the
reproduction of beauty in meaning or imagery rather than formal properties. Many
famous translators, such as Arthur Waley, Ezra Pound, W.J.B Fletcher and etc., have
rendered Chinese poetry into unrhymed free verses, and only several translators
including James Legge, Giles and John Turner have tried to retain the original
beauty or spirit in metrics by way of rhythmical and metrical devices in English
poetry. On the contrary, most Chinese translators, focusing on the original textual
grids, have sharply emphasized the necessities to reproduce the poetic beauty both
in meaning and sound. The eminent Chinese translator by name of Xu
Yuanchong(l984:52-61) has proposed the criterion of "beauty in three aspects",
claiming the reproduction of poetic beauty at semantic, sound and form levels,
which, presently, is quite prevalent among Chinese poetry translators and
researchers.
In a nutshell, although poetic sprit or beauty, in translating practice, may be
confined to content, form or both of them, and may sometimes be further expressed
by other terms such as meaning, emotions or artistic atmosphere, the underlying
aesthetic consideration, by nature, is quite the same, just as Bassnett once
commented, "time and again Pound reminds us that a translation should be a work
of art in its own right, for anything less is pointless"(2001a:64).

2. Translation as poem into poem

The original is comprised of poetic content and form, so it is justifiable for the
translator to render a poem into a poem. Not only Chinese translators but also
English translators have such similar views. Specifically speaking, translation as
poem into poem, at least, involves the following two senses and reasons: firstly, as a
poem, the original is a special genre of artistic creation, and in translation it should
not be distorted into prose or any other genre of writing; secondly, since the original
is a poem full of poetic charm, the translation should also have the poetic values
and qualities.
From the above-mentioned, it may be perceived that the concept of poem into
poem is of some positive significance in poetry translation, as Gallagher once said,
"what an English-only reader wants is a good poem in English"(Mona Baker,

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 2004: 171 ). Therefore, the concept, to some extent, may be employed as a guideline
or criterion. in practice. However, poem into poem, by nature, is too general and
obscure to be effectively applied to poetry translation, which may easily lead to two
potential limitations or demerits in comprehension and practice.
For one thing, how to define poem or poetry is still a much discussed and
disputed topic, and it seems that currently, no one has reached a unified and widely
accepted definition. In reality, translators may have their own understandings of the
central issue what a poem is, thus producing sharply distinct views and strategies in
practice. For example, some translators regard the musical quality as the inseparable
part of poetry, so believing that the translation of classical Chinese poetry must be
rhymed. On the contrary, some hold different opinions that only the poetic content,
artistic atmosphere or imagery can be qualified to measure up whether a piece of
work is a poem or not, accordingly arguing that classical Chinese poetry should be
rendered into free verses. Simply judging from the above controversies, these two
kinds of opposite views, based on different definitions of poetry, sound partially
reasonable and practicable, but these views are not beneficial to translation practice
and evaluation. By and large, if the translator wants to consider poem into poem as
a criterion, the term of poem should first of all be defined with great clarity. In this
respect, it is often supposed that the definition of poem had better cover all the
qualities deriving from both poetic content and form.
For another, the guideline of poem into poem, in some cases, can hardly reveal
the essential requirements in poetry translation, or rather, translation itself. Viewed
from translation studies, the relations between the original and the translated may be
expounded like this. The original is the objective reference for a translator, and
translator's duty or obligation is to reproduce the original in the target language and
culture, so as to seek for the similar function and effect of translation in the target
language. Then, the clear demarcation line between the creation of source text and
the recreation of translated text should not be confused and dismantled, although
Paz has stressed "translation and creation are twin processes" (1992:160). These
basic requirements are vitally essential to the nature of translation, without which
translation can hardly exist in its true sense. That is to say, in poetry translation,
translator, unlike the original poet, can only recreate a poem under the referential
scope of the original rather than create a new poem independent of the original.
Ezra Pound's translation of classical Chinese poetry is a good case in point. Pound's
translation may stand on its own as a good poem, or rather, a new poem which is

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 perfectly up to the measurement of poem into poem concept, but strictly speaking,
his translated poem is quite like the original poet's creation instead of faithful
reproduction of the original, and it can hardly be called translation. It goes without
any exaggeration, translator, by following poem into poem, may sometimes go too
far to violate the nature of translation and turn translation into a sort of free
creation.

3. Translation as seed transplanting

Against the background of the cultural turn in translation studies, the concept of
"transplanting the seed" concerning poetry translation has been formulated by
Susan Bassnett (200Ia). In general, the cultural turn in translation studies marks a
shift of academic emphasis from the former linguistic and textual grids to the
present cultural and extra-textual factors in translation. Nowadays, the so-called
culture studies approach to translation seems to be more and more fashionable and
influential, thus casting new light upon poetry translation. Needless to say, seed
transplanting, mainly based on the perspectives of culture studies and comparative
literature theories, may provide an access to English translation of classical Chinese
poetry.
To begin with, it is better to introduce the connotations of the term seed
transplanting. Bassnett first cited Shelley's following words about difficulties of
poetry translation: "it were as wise to cast a violet into a crucible that you might
discover the formal principle of its color and odour, as to seek to transfuse from one
language into another the creations of a poet. The plant must spring again from its
seed, or it will bear no flower- and this is the burthen of the curse of
Babel"(2001a:58). Then based on Shelley's imagery of change and new growth,
Bassnett mentioned that "the seed can be placed in new soil, for a new plant to
develop. The task of the translator must then be to determine and locate that seed
and to set about its transplantation"(2001a: 58). That is to say, "the task of the
translator is to compose an analogous text in another language"(Bassnett, 200la:66).
In this sense, poetry translation may be regarded as energy-releasing, freeing the
linguistic sign into circulation, re-flowering in another language and culture
(Bassnett, 200 la:74).
Specifically, as for English translation of classical Chinese poetry, translator,
according to the above-cited concept, should dismantle the original to select the
seed of the Chinese poetry and then reconstruct it in English language to release the

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 energy and the cultural capital into circulation. By doing so, translator must, first of
all, decide on what kind of seed in the original poem should be picked out and
transplanted. For this, Bassnett suggested, "in order to translate poetry, the first
stage is intelligent reading of the source text, a detailed process of decoding that
takes into account both textual features and extra-textual factors"(200la:60). It
seems that how to define the seed will be influenced by both textual and
extra-textual elements. And the seed is also a very generalized and uncertain
concept. In practice, translator's choice of seed will be subject to numerous
constraints, which may roughly be grouped into following categories: textual
qualities, translators' preference or purposes, reader's expectation, language
discrepancies and etc. To be more specific, in classical Chinese poetry, any aspect
related to poetic content and form may be qualified to rank as seeds or cultural
capitals, but some of them, due to the above various constraints, will have to fall out
of the translator's choices and will not be transplanted. This is just as Lawrence
Venuti once pointed out, "every step in the translation process-from the selection
of foreign texts to the implementation of translation strategies to the editing,
reviewing and reading of translations- is mediated by the diverse cultural values
that circulate in the target language, always in some hierarchical order"(Bassnett,
2001b:137).
So far as the transplanting strategies are concerned, they are also likely to be very
flexible, because the translator's final choice of the seed, whether based on the
original textual grids or target cultural grids, may affect his or her translating
methods. It goes without any doubt that seed may be chosen with some restraints as
well as some freedom, so is the case with the transplanting strategies. In spite of
translator's freedom and flexibility in seed transplanting, one point must be ensured
in translation of Chinese poetry that the image or the truth of Chinese poetic culture
must not be distorted and impaired. In other words, seed transplanting should base
its rationality and practicability on such a premise not to violate the basic
requirements of translation itself.

4. Translation as line by line

In classical Chinese poetry, it is usual for the poet to employ two or more than
two verse lines to express the full meaning or information of a sentence often used
in our everyday lives, and each verse line, in terms of linguistic function, is
approximate to a clause or several phrases in grammar. In this sense, the expressive

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 mode in Chinese poetry is quite similar to enjambment in English poetry. Therefore,
translating the poem line by line is widely acknowledged by both Chinese and
English translators.
Actually, translation as line by line is not simply a practical strategy, but tightly
associated with the choice of translation unit. According to Lorscher's views,
"considered from a process-oriented point of view, the unit of translation is the
stretch of source text on which the translator focuses attention in order to represent
it as a whole in the target language"(Mona Baker, 2004:286). As a general rule,
translation line by line may, at least, have the following two advantages.
Firstly, translation as line by line can facilitate translator's concentration on the
syntactic features in Chinese poetry, which are crucially different from those in
English poetry. Undoubtedly, the poetic theme or subject matter is of prime
significance, but how to express it in poetic language also plays an important role.
Particularly, the poet enjoys much freedom in breaking down the norms and
conventions of language, which is called "poetic licence" (Leech, 1969:36). Watson
once analyzed two major features of Chinese poetic language, that is, nouns contain
no indication of number and verbs lack indication of tense (1971 :7 -8). In addition,
Chinese, an uninflected paratactic language, does not have the indications of case,
gender, subjunctive mood, dynamic or static verb and etc. Hence, the syntactic
structure of Chinese verse line, as is well known, is often characterized by various
omitted grammatical elements, inversions, lack of concepts in time and space and
etc. Although Dryden argued, "but since every language is so full of its own
proprieties, that what is beautiful in one, is often barbarous, may sometimes
nonsense, in another. .. "( 1992:21 ), the fine shades of poet's powerful or subtle
feelings, to a great extent, are presented through the peculiarities of Chinese poetic
syntax. Accordingly, the translator, whenever possible, should pay much attention to
these structural features. In reality, translators, by way of disembodiment, may try
to more or less imitate the brevity and conciseness of Chinese verse line. Certainly,
there also exist some extreme cases that a Chinese verse line has been split up and
rendered into several lines in English, which has completely overlooked the original
syntactic features.
Secondly, any translation is intended for the reader in target language, and
translation as line by line may be helpful to reader's reception and comprehension,
for English readers have been well acquainted with the tradition of enjambment in
poetry reading. Translation as line by line may conform to the reader's horizon of

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 expectation, and moreover, translation as line by line signifies an effort to keep the
original outflow order of poet's thoughts and emotions, thus easily leading readers
into the inner world of the poet through reading line by line.

5. Conclusion
To treat all the concepts in English translation of classical Chinese poetry
exhaustively is really impossible by this short paper, which is not the intention of
this paper. As mentioned previously, only four major concepts have been touched
upon, but they are quite influential and popular, which can reveal some basic views
shared by both Chinese and English translators. From the above analysis, a brief
summary may be made here. Classical Chinese poetry has its own linguistic and
cultural characteristics. The above concepts are proposed on the basis of different
aspects of poetry translation. Comparatively speaking, translation as reproduction of
original beauty or spirit sharpens the aesthetic claim or qualities in translation, and
translation as poem into poem concentrates on the whole effect of the translation,
while seed transplanting highlights the textual and extra-textual constraints in
poetry translation, and translation as line by line pays much attention to the
syntactic features. Although all the concepts are usually employed in rendering
classical Chinese poetry, most of them are somewhat generalized and obscure,
which need to be further defined clearly to avoid ambiguities. What is more,
whatever concept may be chosen as a guideline or criterion in practice, translator
should always bear in mind that English translation of classical Chinese poetry is
merely a sort of cross-cultural reproduction and recreation instead of free creation
irregardless .of the original text.

Notes:
[I] Baker, Mona. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies [Z]. Shanghai: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.
[2] Bassnett, Susan. "Transplanting the Seed: Poetry and Translation"[A]. Susan Bassnett &
Andre Lefevere (eds.) Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation[C] .Shanghai:
Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 200Ia.
[3] Bassnett, Susan. "The Translation Turn in Cultural Studies"[A]. Susan Bassnett & Andre
Lefevere (eds.) Constructing Cultures: Essays on Literary Translation[C] .Shanghai: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press, 200Ib.
[4] Bonnefoy, Yves. "Translating Poetry"[A] .Rainer Schulte & John Biguenet (eds .)Theories of
Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida[C].Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press, 1992.

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?1994-2015 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved. http://www.c
 [5] Dryden, John. "On Translation"[A].Rainer Schulte & John Biguenet(eds.), Theories of
Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida [C].Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press, 1992.
[6] Leech, GN. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry [M].London: Longman Group Ltd., 1969.
[7] Mao Dun. "Preface" [A].Rewi Alley (translated) BAI Juyi 200 Selected Poems [M].Beijing:
New World Press, 1983.
[8] Paz, Octavio. "Translation: Literature and Letters"[A].Rainer Schulte & John Biguenet(eds.)
Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida [C].Chicago and
London: The University of Chicago Press, 1992.
[9] Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. "Preface to The Early Italian Poets"[A].Rainer Schulte & John
Biguenet(eds.)Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida
[C].Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press,1992.
[1 0] Watson, Burton. Chinese Lyricism [M].New York: Columbia University Press, 1971.
[ ll] Xu Yuanchong. The Art of Translation (Fan Yi De Yi Shu) [C].Beijing: China Translation &
Publishing Corporation, 1984.

LI Te-fu (1969- ) Associate professor of Foreign Language School,

Maoming University. Currently as Ph.D. candidate of Foreign Language
School, Sichuan University. His research fields cover translation theory and
practice. Address: Foreign Language School, Maoming University, Guangdong
Province, P.R. China; Postcode: 525000; E-mail: [email protected]

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