An Analysis of Xu Yuanchong’s Works about the Employment of Rhyme in Ancient Chinese Poetry
Translation
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March 17, 2014 University
Contents
摘 要 ................................................................................................................................................. i Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. ii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 2.The Background of Ancient Chinese Poems and the Brief Introduction of Professor Xu Yuanchong......................................................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Common Theories of Ancient Chinese Poetry Translation ................................................. 2
2.2.2 The influential translation theories in China ............................................................ 3 2.3 Brief Introduction on Professor Xu Yuanchong s ................................................................ 5 3. The Skills of Employing Rhyme ................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Aspect of Word .................................................................................................................... 6
3.1.1 Adding word for rhyme ............................................................................................ 6 3.1.2 Employing Auxiliary for Rhyme .............................................................................. 7 3.1.3 Employing tailing words .......................................................................................... 8 3.2 Aspect of rhyme .................................................................................................................. 9
3.2.1 Employing Alliteration ............................................................................................. 9 3.2.2 Employing internal rhyme ...................................................................................... 10 3.2.3 Employing poetic license ....................................................................................... 11 3.3 The revision of poetry translation on rhyme ..................................................................... 11
3.3.1 The revision of rhyming scheme ............................................................................ 11
4. Advantages of rhyme when translating ancient poetry ............................................................... 13
4.1 Loyal to the original poem ................................................................................................ 13 5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 14 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 16
摘 要
中国古典诗词的创作是一门艺术，是意境美，音韵美，形式美的和谐统一。这些美感在英译中不但不能丧失，而且还要尽量体现。古诗词英译一直都是翻译界的难题，要想在不失原文含意的基础上同时译出中国古诗词的韵律更是难上加难。由于中西方人民在价值观和文化背景方面有很大差异译。所以如何让西方读者能够欣赏中国古诗词蕴含的美，是很多翻译家所要达到的目的。翻译家大师许渊冲在中国翻译领域成就辉煌，尤其是在中国古诗词翻译方面有着其独特的理论。许渊冲被称为将中国古典诗词译成英、法韵文的唯一专家。他是格律体译诗的代表人物。本文试从词汇，音韵和音韵改义方面探讨许渊冲在古诗词用韵方面的技巧，并结合相应的诗歌例子进行阐述。
关键词：许渊冲 韵律的使用 中国古诗词
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Abstract
The production of Chinese classic poetry is a kind of art, which contains the beauty of meaning, sound and form. When the Chinese classic poetry is translated into English, the beauty of the poetry is not only to be reserved, but also to be embodied. English translation of Chinese poems is a problem in translation circles. It is harder to not lose the original meaning and translate on the basis of the rhyme of Chinese poetry. Due to English and Chinese people have distinctions in their thought patterns and culture background. How to make western readers fully appreciate the poetry’s beauty, become a goal pursued by every translator. Xu Yuanchong, the great master in the field of translation has outstanding achievement, especially has some special theories about the ancient Chinese poetry translation. Xu Yuanchong is called the only expert for translating Chinese classical poems into English and French verse. He is the representative figure of GeLvTi translation of poetry. This paper makes an attempt to discuss his works about the use of rhyme from word, sound and the reversion on rhyme, and focus on some examples.
Key Words: Xu Yuanchong, employment of rhyme, ancient Chinese poetry
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1. Introduction
Translation skopos theory thinks that translation is a human behavior study of category. It is a cross-language activity and a cross-cultural activity. Translation studies not only involves surface language phenomenon, but also involves the deep Cultural phenomenon. Poetry as well as prose, novels and other forms of literature reflects the social life. Poetry translation is also involved in cultural issues. What’s more, poetry reflects life more focused, concise and stricter by the form of constraint. Therefore, poetry translation is a kind of hard work. No wonder people will say that poetry translation just like \
Poetry is the oldest literature form; it is the crystallization of the times, history and culture. Poetry not only represents the extensiveness and profoundness of a nation’s culture, but also by means of concise language, combines ideal and reality, time and space, sense and sensibility. For a nation with a history of 5000 years, the ancient Chinese poetry is a brilliant gem in the Chinese literature as well as in the world literature. Early in the end of the 19 century, the well-known English scholar-Herbert G. Giles translated Chinese Tang Poems into English verses which were well received by readers of English. However, in the long history of translating classical Chinese poetry into English, there is not a universally accepted theory for it. Scholars like Wen Yiduo(闻一多) holds that poetry is actually untranslatable. The English poetry translator John Denham has the same opinion as him-Poetry is of so subtle a spirit, that in the pouring out of one language into another, it will evaporate.
Since one cannot understand all the languages in the world, poetry should be translated. As all Chinese poems are written in rhyme, no English version could reproduce an effect similar to the original if no rhyme were used. It is not enough to translate the surface meaning of ancient Chinese poems. The beauty of rhyme is very important in the verse translation. “Rhyme is the soul of poetry”, says by Liu Yaoming(刘尧名).Therefore, This thesis will attempt to analyze the works of Xu
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