The Comparative Study of Metaphorical Images Translation Strategies in Tang Poetry

Abstract

In Tang poetry, metaphorical images serve as powerful tools for poets to convey their emotions and experiences in a vivid and imaginative manner. These images, drawn from nature, mythology, history, and daily life, allow poets to create rich and layered meanings that resonate with readers across time and culture. The use of metaphorical images in Tang poetry reflects the deep poetic tradition and artistic sensibility of Chinese literature. Translating metaphorical images from Tang poetry into English poses a unique challenge for translators due to the cultural and linguistic differences between the two languages. However, this challenge also presents an opportunity for translators to exercise creativity and interpretation in conveying the essence of the original poems. By carefully selecting appropriate English equivalents for the metaphorical images, translators can capture the beauty and complexity of Tang poetry for English-speaking audiences. Through a comparative analysis of translation strategies employed in representative cases of Tang poetry, this paper combines case study and corpus analysis methods to explore the concept and function of metaphorical images in Tang poetry, analyzes the possibility and importance of its English translation, and provides a comparative analysis of translation strategies for metaphorical images using representative cases of Tang poetry translation. It reveals the rationality and fidelity of translating metaphorical images.