UntranslatableProbleminpoemTranslationundertheThreeBeautiesTheory

【Abstract】A poem is the most sentimental one among all of literature styles. It rhymes and displays beauty. Poem translation plays an important part in cultural exchanges. However， there exists untranslatable problem in poem translation. This article tries to analyze the appliance of Three Beauties Theory and its guidance for poem translation， taking two translation versions of Xiaozhi as an example.

【Key words】Untranslatable Problem in Poem Translation； Three Beauties Theory； Xiaozhi

【作者簡介】蔡淼霞，暨南大学翻译学院。

Introduction

Robert Frost said， “Poem is what gets lost in translation.” He means something must be missing in the translation of poem， namely there exists untranslatable problem in poem translation. This untranslatable problem in poem translation can be concluded as follows.

Firstly is the deviation from the original meaning. The meaning conveyed in words or lines are different from the original text， leading to cultural dislocation.

Secondly is the mistake in grammar and rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices and other writing skills are widely used in poems. It is hard or even impossible to exactly reproduce them in translations.

Thirdly is the destruction of rhyme and structure. Poems have neat form and parallel structures which are usually destroyed in translation versions.

Nevertheless， one of the famous translators of Chinese ancient poems， Xu Yuanchong， has introduced the Three Beauties Theory for poem translation. It is the idea that a translation should be as beautiful as the original in three ways： semantically， phonologically and logically.

Under the perspective of the Three Beauties Theory， the following chapters analyze two translation versions of Xiaozhi， one of poems written by Chinese poet Dufu， and at the same time analyze this theorys application in translation study and its constructive guidance for poem translation.

Chapter one A General Introduction to the Three Beauties Theory

1. Background of the establishment of the Three Beauties Theory

For aesthetic principle of translation， Luxin had indicated three features of Chinese characters： semantically beautiful for heart， phonologically beautiful for ears and logically beautiful for eyes. Later came the notion of “transformation” put forward by Qian Zhongshu. “Transformation” is regarded as the highest standard for literature translation that bodies are sloughed off， but the spirit， appearance and manner are the same as before， the old me or the old self.

For poem translation， especially for Chinese poems， Xu Yuanchong establishes the Three Beauties Theory， based on the above two aesthetic principle. Three beauties are semantical beauty， phonological beauty and logical beauty.

2. The Three Beauties Theory

Xu advocates that the versions of poems should combine visual and aural beauties together， and they should reproduce the fusion of pictorial composition and musical arrangement. He claims that the foundation of the three beauties is three similarities with the original text， namely semantical similarity， phonological similarity and logical similarity.

Semantical beauty means that the versions of poems should exactly convey the content of the original text without ambiguity， omission or inaccuracy.

Phonological beauty means that the versions of poems should have style like rhyme and rhythm that make it catchy for reading.

Logical beauty means that the versions of poems should be symmetrical in form and the lines of the versions parallel with each other neatly.

Chapter two the background of Xiaozhi and its two selected versions

1. Background of Xiaozhi

In the year of Qian Yen Year 1 （758）， Dufu was demoted to Huazhou. When away home in Kuizhou， he was already 55 years old. At that time， he was ill but still couldnt go back home because of the war. The weather and the natural view on winter solstice aroused Dufus heavy homesickness. Dufu then sighed for the end of year and his life， writing the poem Xiaozhi in Kuizhou in the winter of the first year of Dali.

2. Xiaozhi and its two selected versions

小至

杜甫

天時人事日相催，

冬至阳生春又来。

刺绣五纹添弱线，

吹葭六琯动浮灰。

岸容待腊将舒柳，

山意冲寒欲放梅。

云物不殊乡国异，

教儿且覆掌中杯。

Version one， by Xu Yuanchong and Xu Ming

Winter Solstice

Du Fu

Heaven and earth press for a change from day to day；

On winter solstice spring will come without delay.

The embroiderer adds in an hour one more thread；

When six reed pipes are blown， up and down ashes spread.

The rivershores wait to be greened by willow trees；

The coldproof mountain sets mume blossoms at release.

The scenery here looks fine as in our homeland；

I tell my son to drink up the cup in his hand.

Version two， by David Hinton

Winter Solstice Eve

Tu Fu

Heavens times and mans affairs hurry us along

on winter solstice yang appears and spring returns

to silk embroideries a thread is added

out of long flutes reed ashes fly

the shores wait for New Year to set willows free

the hills battle cold to liberate plum trees

the shapes of clouds are the same as back home

I tell my son to finish my wine

Chapter three Analysis of the two versions under the Three Beauties Theory

1. Semantical Beauty

In the Three Beauties Theory， semantical beauty is the first one to be concerned. However， the translation of ancient Chinese poems is not an easy work. Because in ancient Chinese Poems， the use of ambiguity， symbolism and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. There are also various rhetorical devises used like simile and metonymy. All these are essential points for translators to put elaborate work on. Here are examples in the translation of Xiaozhi.

First of all is the translation of the title “Xiaozhi”. In version one it is translated into “Winter Solstice” while in version two， Hinton translates it to “Winter Solstice Eve”. According to some records， the exact meaning of “xiaozhi” is uncertain. It refers to the day before Winter Solstice in one record but the day after Winter Solstice in another. But one book， Duyi， is relatively of great reference value. Duyi is the collection and conclusion of Dufus poems， written by Wang Sishi， a litterateur of Ming dynasty for 37 years. According this book， “xiaozhi” should not be regarded as the day before Winter Solstice on which “tianxian” and “donghui” in this poem are unreasonable. Therefore， the two translation versions of the title are not totally true.

The translation of “tianshi” and ”renshi” in the first line is also a difficult translation point. In the original text， “tianshi” means the weather， and “renshi” means things that happen in life. In version one， these two phrases are translated to “heaven and earth”， applying domestication. “Heaven” here is understandable for foreign readers， and “earth” is used to refer to human life which is also a word that is perfectly parallel to “heaven”. In version two， the two phrases are translated to “Heavens times and mans affairs”， using literal translation. The meaning is also true and the structure is parallel.

“rixiaocui” in the first line means changing quickly day by day. The translation in Version one “press for a change from day to day” is expressive while “hurry us along” in version two stays from the point.

In the second line， “dongzhi” and “yangsheng” are the same solar term， namely winter solstice. “yang appears” is not necessary which may also cause puzzle.

In the third line， the subject， namely the body of making movements is concealed. Both versions add a subject “embroiderer” to the target text which conveys the same meaning of the original text and make the sentence complete for readers to understand.

According to Tangzalu， the third line of this poem tries to expound that after winter solstice， the day becomes longer and the night becomes shorter through the description of the much more work done by embroiderers. The two versions all translate “wuwen” and “tianruoxian” into “add a thread”. This is faithful to the original text and concise as well. What is different is that version one adds “in one hour” to show the concealed meaning of the change of day length while version two add a preposition “to” to link with line two which directly claims the time. Both translation methods are expressive and understandable.

In ancient China， people studied climate change by putting reed ashes into bamboo pipes or metal pipes. If ashes in the sixth pipe fly， it suggests that it is winter solstice. This method is called “chuijia” and the pipes used are called “lüguan”（律琯） in Chinese. The two translation versions of line four are not totally faithful to the original text， because “liu” is not a number but an ordinal numeral “sixth”. The “long flutes” in version is a musical instrument of the WOODWIND group. It cannot be equated with “lüguan”.

Line six means the shores are waiting for the twelfth lunar month when willow trees will stretch out their branches and extracts new buds. As for the translation of this line， version one is better than version two. “be greened by willow trees” in version one exactly conveys the meaning of the original text while “New Year” in version two is not the same as “layue” in the text and “set willows free” has the same meaning of the literal meaning of the text but it does express the deep meaning and should be hard for foreign readers to imagine the scene.

“yunwu” in ancient Chinese poems refers to scenery. The translation of it， “shapes of clouds” in version two， is incorrect while in version two， it is translated into the true meaning， “The scenery”.

All in all， the deviation from the original meaning in poem translation is resolvable as long as deep research for exact meanings of words or lines in the original text is well done.

2. Phonological beauty

Poetry is a form of literature that is aesthetic and rhythmic. A translator of poems should not be satisfied with the mere conveying of the ideas in the original， but must strive for the reproduction of the original beauty. Translation version one of Xiaozhi makes a great success in creating phonological beauty.

According to the use of rhyme in Tang Dynasty， Chinese characters are divided into 106 rhyme classes（韻部）. Each class contains many Chinese characters. Rhyme in poems must come from the same class. This kind of rhyme is called Ping Shui Rhyme （平水韵）.

Xiaozhi is a poem uses Ping Shui Rhyme. The Chinese characters “cui”， “lai”， “hui”， “mei”， “bei”are rhymes that come from the same rhyme class， “Shangpin Shihui” （上平十灰）. Version one tactfully use the rhyme in English to retain the phonological beauty of the original text.

In English poems， rhyme between lines is called rhyming scheme. Common patterns are AABB， ABCB， ABAB and ABBA.

Version one has rhyming scheme in the pattern of AABB. Line one and line two respectively ends with “day” and “delay”， rhyming the rhyme | e? |. Line three and Line four respectively ends with “thread” and “spread”， rhyming the rhyme | r?d |. Line five and Line six respectively ends with “trees” and “release”， rhyming the rhyme | lis |. Line seven and Line eight respectively ends with “homeland” and “hand”， rhyming the rhyme | ?nd |.

The destruction of rhyme is evitable in poem translation. The use of rhyme of the original poem can be transferred into the different use of rhyme in the target version.

3. Logical beauty

Logical beauty is the last beauty concerned in the Three Beauties Theory.

The two versions of Xiaozhi are all symmetrical in form and the lines parallel with each other neatly. However， there also exist some defects in version one.

In version one， all lines are one simple sentence except line four which consists of two short sentences. This line with different pattern destroys the whole uniform structure. However， this version has one feature that is unseen in version two. It is the use of punctuation. Version one uses semicolon in the end of one line and use period in the end of another， based on the sense group of sentence. This use of punctuation adds norm to the version and makes it easier to understand the thinking pattern of the original text.

Comparatively version two is better in terms of logical beauty. Each line of it contains no more than ten words. Moreover， line two， line three and line four are opened with preposition， respectively “on”， ”to” and “out of”. Line five， line six and line seven are opened with definite article with noun， respectively “the shores”， ” the hills”， ” the shapes of clouds”. The symmetrical form and the parallel lines in version two recreate the artistic conception of the original poem.

All in all， translators can achieve the reproduction of logical beauty by various ways， such as united numbers of words in each line， same form of opening， etc.

Conclusion

Some poetry types are specific to particular cultures and genres and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Therefore， the translation of poems is of great significance for cultural exchanges. However， Poetry uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to， or in place of， the prosaic ostensible meaning that makes it difficult for translation. With the guidance of the Three Beauties Theory， the process of poem translation is much easier to carry on. In order to solve the untranslatable problem and achieve the three beauties in poem translation， the following tip are concluded.

Firstly for semantical beauty， translators should do the intralingual translation before interlingual translation. Exact meanings of words and expressions in the original text should be attained by serious research and study. Semantical beauty not only requires precise translation of words and lines of poems， but also pursues the beauty of artistic conception of the whole translation version.

Secondly for phonological beauty， the rhyme of the original text is supposed to be retained in the target text. The translators can even strive for the more amazing phonological beauty based on the features of the target languages.

Thirdly for logical beauty， when translators achieve semantical beauty and phonological beauty， he or she should work hard to make the translation version symmetrical in form and neatly parallel in lines.

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