Abstract
This research aims at finding out how we can benefit from comparing Chinese and Western poetics when translating texts of traditional Chinese literary theories into English. We will try to find out, from the perspectives of comparative poetics, the difficulties and solutions in translating traditional Chinese literary theories into English. We will also see how comparative poetics would affect the translating strategies and the readers’ understanding of the translated texts. The paper starts with a comparison and analysis of the four English translations of the “Shen Si” (《神思》) chapter in WXDL. The comparisons and analyses expose problems in translating traditional Chinese literary theories into English, but it also gives us some insights. We find that some characteristics of the text, such as the critical terms, the figurative use of language, and the numerous quotes and illusions, impose lots of challenges to the translating. We also find that a comparative study of Chinese and Western poetics in many ways is helpful to the translation of the texts of traditional Chinese literary theories.
Highlights
My motivation of writing on the present topic has to do with my concern about the developing of Chinese literary theory, which is confronted with puzzledom at the moment
By investigating the English translations of the traditional Chinese literary theories, we hope to provide the translators with some insights into the two traditions, and the readers with a better understanding of the translated texts
If we look more closely we would find that Owen’s translation is not so much in a word-to-word manner as Shih’s
Summary
My motivation of writing on the present topic has to do with my concern about the developing of Chinese literary theory, which is confronted with puzzledom at the moment. The phenomenon itself has advanced the construction of Chinese literary theory, it has produced a lot of confusion. The major research question of this paper is, when translating texts of traditional Chinese literary theories into English, what is the role of comparing Chinese and Western poetics? The task of translation necessarily extends beyond the normally defined translating process itself to include in-depth research into both the literary norms and cultural conventions in both source and receptor cultures. It is even more so in the translating of traditional Chinese literary theories into English. By investigating the English translations of the traditional Chinese literary theories, we hope to provide the translators with some insights into the two traditions, and the readers with a better understanding of the translated texts
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