“Your Alabaster in This Porcelain”: Judith Gautier'sLe livre de jade

Abstract

This article discusses the history of Judith Gautier'sLe livre de jade(1867), one of the earliest volumes of translations of Chinese poetry published in any European language. It explores the connection between her interest in this project, which Gautier undertook as an amateur student of Chinese, and both the sinological context and the influence of her father, Théophile. Although her command of Chinese was imperfect, Gautier knew more than many have insinuated; her renditions convey important themes of the Chinese poetic tradition and maintain at times an impressive fidelity to the original form. Though she frequently chose to adapt the Chinese verse to an innovative rhythmic prose, her adaptations retain the originals' emotional reticence and imagistic evocativeness–stylistic qualities that resonated with contemporary and succeeding poetic tastes. The collection's remarkable literary and musical afterlife provides an illuminating case in the cultural history of translation, mistranslation, and adaptation.