Author: Fangfang Tan ＊ Shanghai Normal University, PRC This paper is divided into five parts. The first part serves as the introduction...
Author: Fangfang Tan ＊ Shanghai Normal University, PRC
This paper is divided into five parts. The first part serves as the introduction to Professor Xu’s brilliant achievements in translation. He is well-known as the first man to have translated classical Chinese literature, including classical Chinese poems, into English verses and rendered some into French verses. Xu has also translated many British and French classics into Chinese. He favors the strategy of domestication in his versions. For scores of years, Xu has applied himself whole-heartedly to literary translation. Up to now, he has translated 120 classical Chinese works into English and some into French and vice versa. Through plenty of practice for 60 years, he has summarized his translation theory, which is discussed and proved in his 121 academic papers and newspaper articles and which has formed a reasonable theoretical translation system. In 1999, he was nominated as a candidate for Nobel Prize in literature. In 1914, he was honored with the title of “Outstanding Literary Translator” by the International Translators Federation. In 2010, he was awarded “Lifetime Achievement Prize for Translation of Culture” by the Chinese Translators Association. Xu is the most senior and most respected translator and translation theorist in PRC. His principle of creative translation and that of excellence, especially. his three-beauty principle for translation of poetry, as well as his translated works are researched into by numerous scholars in China, who take his theory as their guide to action. This paper is devoted to this great scholar.
Besides, this part also overviews relevant literature. So far, in China, there are as many as 1417 papers and theses that explore and prove Xu’s translation theory from different perspectives, focusing on the feasibility of the three- beauty principle for translation of poetry by analyzing some of his versions of classical Chinese poems. His translations of classical Chinese poems and Ci poems, as well as songs, verses, and dramas are all considered to be well done. Foreign experts also praise highly Xu’s translations of classical Chinese literature, esp. poetry. E.g., Professor West from California University remarks that the English version of the Classic of poetry rendered by Xu is a delight to read. An American scholar named Kowallis from Melbourne University sets a high value on Xu’s versions of English and American literature, highly extolling Xu’s versions as a peak of English and American literature.Still, another foreign scholar states that Xu’s theory of excellence is a theory of new literary translation by destroying the old and establishing the new.
This part also makes clear the reasons and the theme of the paper. Although so many Chinese scholars have written papers proving Xu’s translation theory and practice, yet most of them show a lack of deep analysis. Thus, the writer of this paper, who immensely admires Xu, conducts a specific study of the feasibility of Xu’s translation principles, focusing on the effectiveness of Xu’s three-beauty principle for translation of poetry and his findings through his translation of classical literature, esp. classical poems, which exert a profound influence on Chinese translators and translation researchers.
The second part illustrates and verifies Xu’s principle of creative translation and that of excellence. Xu (2000) proposes the principle of creative translation in the Introduction to English versions of 300 Immortal Poems in China. Creative translation just means proper use of the best expressions and sentences of the target language to make the version better. E.g., Zhu Shenghao’s versions of Shakespeare’s plays, Fu Lei’s versions of Balzac’s novels, and Yang Bi’s translation of Vanity Fair are all representative works which show features of creative translation.
Translators may treat the literary translation as the rivaly between two languages or even between two cultures which compete to reproduce the original content better. It should be faithful to the original at least, and beautiful at best. A literary translator ought to exploit the advantages of the target text, i.e., to make the fullest possible use of the best expressions of the target language to render the reader understand, enjoy and delight in the version. A creative translator should do his work as though he were the author of the original in the target language.
The two languages which involve translation have their advantages and disadvantages. Each has its idiomatic usage. If the translator can bring into full play the distinguishing features of the target language by using the most appropriate expressions to describe the reality portrayed by the original, then the version becomes superior or gets closer to what actually happens or what is true in the source text. That is the ontology of literary translators. According to this cognition, the version may be better or above the original. That is the theory of excellence advocated by Xu.
Guo Moruo once commented that good translation equals creation and even better than it. Now that we want Chinese culture to go to the world, it is necessary to make the best use of the quintessence of Chinese culture. Four-character phrases form a major characteristic of Chinese, just as relative clauses are a particular feature of the Western languages.
What is the best translation? Xu analyzes one example from the novel Red and Black. He supplies two versions of the first sentence from Chapter One of Red and Black and proves that the second version is superior.
Now we want to build up an influential Chinese culture. To make it come true, it is imperative to not only translate excellent foreign literature into Chinese but also render more outstanding Chinese literature into foreign languages to enable Chinese literature to merge into world literature so that world literature may become more brilliant.
Clearly, Xu’s theory of creative translation and that of excellence are closely related to each other. They cannot be separated from each other. They promote and complement each other. To my way of thinking, they are just translation principles. While doing literary translation, a translator ought to comply with these two principles.
The third part proves the feasiblity of Xu’s three-beauty principle for translation of classical Chinese poetry (Hereafter, abbreviated as CCP), which is a kind of treasure of Chinese culture, and which represents one of the forms of the beauty of Chinese culture. Its form, language and implied meaning are quite different from modern Chinese poems. In order to let more and more foreigners understand the quintessence of CCP, Professor Xu proposes (2003) the three-beauty principle for its translation, “beauty in meaning, beauty in sound, and beauty in form.” This principle is considered to be the highest criterion for poetry translation. By “beauty in meaning,” Xu refers to the faithfulness of the version of a poem. In other words, the version must fully convey the original ideas or meanings and imagery to the target language readers. By “beauty in sound,” Xu means that poems are supposed to show tonal patterns and rhyming schemes and that they must be smooth to read and pleasant to hear. By “beauty in form,” Xu means that the translator uses nouns, adjectives, verbs, and phrases to reproduce the same in the original and that the length and symmetry of the version had better be similar.
According to Xu, Chinese is concise, while English is precise. English is a relatively scientific language: its form expresses its meaning, its formula being: 1+1=2. Chinese is a comparatively artistic language, and its content normally implies more than its form, its formula being: 1+1＞2. If we translate a concise Chinese text by using precise English, we can often ensure that the version is merely similar in meaning, but we cannot possibly convey the original beauty.As the writer, I prove this point by comparing a few typical examples. Of course, I argue for the well-handled versions through detailed analysis. Xu concludes that the three-beauty principle is also called the ontology of poetry translation and that it is precisely the purpose of poetry translation if the readers understand and get great pleasure and satisfaction from translated poems. And I couldn’t agree more.
Next, as the author of this paper, I invite the readers to observe a Ci poem by Yang Shen (杨慎). It is named “Lingjiangxian”, the name of a tune to which the Ci poem is composed. Meanwhile, I invite the audience to look at Xu’s version of it. The Chinese Ci poem is put on the left side, followed by its tonal pattern, and Xu’s version placed on the right, with its metrical pattern under it. By reading aloud this famous Ci poem several times, we may interpret it correctly.
Xu’s three-beauty principle is widely applicable not only to CE translation but also to EC translation of poetry, especially poetry with rhyme and rhythm. As an intance, I analyse a classic poem by George Gordon Byron as well as its Chinese version rendered by myself. After a detailed analysis, I conclude that the whole poem is perfectly rhymed and that the theme is quite clear: the poet admires the leading character’s beauty and describes her beauty in vivid detail by using lively figurative language. Through profound analysis, I assert that the version is concise because I attempt to make the best use of four-character expressions of the target language and that to make the version concise and conform to the three-beauty principle, I flexibly employ such translation techniques as the omission of some words like prepositions &conjunctions and the adjustment of the original order of some phrases and so on. In short, the English lyric poem is translated into idiomatic Chinese, hence the version in conformity with the three-beauty principle.
Through qualitative analysis, including comparative analysis, the second part verifies the effectiveness of Xu’s three-beauty standard and demonstrates that it is objective, scientific, and universally applicable. Of course, whenever we translate poetry, we must first of all have a good understanding of it, then we should strive for creative translation and employ excellent expressions of the target language so that our versions may come up to the three-beauty standard.
The fourth part expounds Xu’s findings through translation of classical literature. (1) Major language differences can be known through literary translation. (2) The Chinese and Western cultures have many things in common and they are supposed to learn from each other. (3) We Chinese always advocate harmonious development and have a passion for peace. (4) Ancient Chinese hated war and loved peace. (5) Heroism in China and that in the West are not quite the same. (6) People in the east and people in the west love beauty in different ways. (7) Theory must be subordinated to practice. Concerning the relationship between translation theory and translation practice, Xu highlights that translation practice goes first, while translation theory second. As the author of this paper, I am greatly enlightened by Xu’s findings.
The fifth part makes the concluding remarks. In one of his papers, Xu shares with readers three key questions he constantly asks himself while translating literary works. The three questions are: (1) Is the version so faithful that it will let the reader know what the original says? (2) Is the version so smooth that it will be appealing to the readers? (3) Is the version so felicitous that the readers will enjoy reading it? Xu explains how the three questions have led him through what he regards as the three crucial stages in the mental process of a literary translator.
Xu emphasizes that to be faithful to the source text does not mean that the translator must follow the expressions of the source text slavishly. In literary translation, it is more important to be as beautiful as the original. The translator should make the best use of the resources of the target language to express the ideas of the original most effectively.
When we discuss new theories of translation in the new century, it is far from enough if we just focus on faithfulness only. Xu advocates that in literary translation we should do our utmost to create and utilize the best expressions of the target language to reproduce the original meaning most impressively. That is the essence of his translation principles.
Xu highlights that translation aims to convey the truth, while poetry focuses on beauty and that translation of poetry should pay special attention to beauty based on faithfulness.
So far, we have verified Xu’s translation principles, but for lack of space, the analysis of typical examples is quite limited. Nevertheless, we have proved the feasibility of Xu’s three-beauty principle by analyzing abundant examples.
Xu’s principles for literary translation, i.e., the criterion of creative translation & that of excellence and the three-beauty principle are closely associated with one another. The former two help to ensure the realization of the three-beauty criterion. In fact, Xu’s translation principles all prove to be quite objective, scientific and widely applicable.
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How much time I spent on this paper and how much benefit I have gained
As the author, I spent about two months reading Xu’s published papers and relevant lierature by other scholars. I read his papers and other scholars’ comments as I wrote the paper. I have learnt and benefited a great deal by reading and studying Xu’s papers and relevant literature by other writers. I have worshiped Xu so much that I have decided to read through all the papers he has published if I have time.This paper is just a study of my research into some of Xu’s papers and other scholars’ relevant papers.
My unforgettable experience with Global Journal
I am deeply impressed and greatly benefited by the Global Journal’s work style and strong sense of responsibility. The editors have helped me improve the paper very carefully. They are very strict and highly efficient. They are helpful and generous. The publication of this paper is an unforgettable pleasant experience to me. I will tell some of my colleagues to contact Global Journal at their convenience.
