The Analysis of English Translation Methods of Tang Poetry Based on Figure and Background Theory
School of Languages and Literature, University of South China, Hengyang 421200, China
| Abstract: | Classical Chinese poetry is a unique form of expression within Chinese classical culture, and its rich connotations often lack corresponding expressions in target language cultural systems. The artistic conception is regarded as the soul of poetry, and many of the artistic conceptions are presented through specific relationships between figures and backgrounds. This paper is based on the Figure-Background Theory, selecting Tang poetry and Xu Yuanchong’s English translations as research subjects. It employs Aixelá’s eleven translation methods to analyze the figures and backgrounds in the original poems from three aspects: the defining characteristics, motion and salience. This research aims to explore how the translator handles the figures and backgrounds in the original poems during the translation process and the translation methods he employs to effectively convey the connotations and artistic conception of the original poetry. Xu Yuanchong actively exercised his agency as a translator, striving to adhere as closely as possible to the figures and backgrounds of the original poems, with the goal of preserving and reproducing the essence and artistic conception of classical poetry. However, in order to enhance the coherence, fluency, and expressiveness of the translations or to create an appropriate artistic conception within the target context, Xu Yuanchong occasionally opted for creative translations of the original figures and backgrounds to improve the readability of the translations Regarding the translation methods employed, Xu organically combined the cultural connotations and surface forms of classical poetry, using linguistic translation and deletion methods primarily for geographical names, while employing linguistic translation and absolute universalization methods for terms that contain allusions. Overall, he aimed to make the translated poetry clear and direct to the understanding of target language readers. Translators should utilize a variety of translation strategies appropriately to convey the core meanings of the figure-background schema in the original text, achieving a more comprehensive and accurate cultural dissemination. Figure-Background Theory enables an exploration of how the artistic conception of classical poetry is formed, and it provides a rational perspective for interpreting the poet’s methods of expressing emotions, thus offering a reliable framework for the translation and analysis of classical poetry. |
| Keywords: | Figure-Ground Theory; Translation Methods; Tang Poetry; Xu Yuanchong |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.cll.2024.04.001 |
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Received: 13 August 2024
Accepted: 2 September 2024
Published Online: 9 September 2024
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