Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper reexamines the translation of Lord Byron as a rebel hero and poetic model of British Romanticism in ‘May Fourth’ China, foregrounding its intricate engagement with the evolving trajectory of Chinese literary modernity. In doing so, it proposes a framework grounded in Even-Zohar’s Polysystem theory, Lefevere’s notion of rewriting, and theoretical conceptualisations of literary modernity. With a particular focus on the 1924 special issues of Short Story Monthly and Morning News Supplement, this study explores the poetic and sociocultural constraints that shaped the translation of Byron’s poetry in the era characterised by the rise of vernacular language, the prosperity of modern free verse, and the integration of Western mode of expression into Chinese literary repertoire. The descriptive and historical analysis not only unveils the critical role of translation in both reflecting and contributing to the transformation of Chinese poetry from a ‘stagnant’ old genre to a ‘living’ new one but, more significantly, suggests that the newness of the modern cannot be framed as a clear-cut rupture with the past but rather involves a set of fierce and intricate confrontations and collaborations between the traditional and the modern, as well as the indigenous and the foreign.
Published Version
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