Brief Analysis of the Beauty of Poetry Translation from the Perspective of Xu Yuanchong’s “Three Beauties Theory”

Abstract

Xu Yuanchong is a well-known translator at domestic and overseas, and is regarded as the first translator of poetry into English and French. As a leading translator of ancient Chinese poetry into English, Xu Yuanchong has a rigorous attitude, inherits the doctrines of his predecessors, collects his lifelong experience, and puts forward his unique translation theory “The three Beauties” - in his more than 60 years of literary translation practice and work, advocating the transmission and preservation of the three aspects of beauty in meaning, sound and form. The theory of “Three Beauties Theory” advocates the transmission and preservation of the metrical rhythm of poems and songs in three aspects: meaning, sound and form, which can perfectly reproduce the unique rhythmic flavor of ancient poems and improve the readability and appreciation of the translation. “Three Beauties Theory” has played an important role in the development of Chinese translation theory. “Three Beauties Theory” provides a theoretical basis for making translated poems more pleasing to the eye and the mind. This study examines Xu Yuanchong’s translation theory and practice from the perspective of his “Three Beauties Theory”, and further analyzes the beauty of his poetry translation from the perspective of his “Three Beauties Theory”.