Indian Sanskrit Drama "Sakuntala" Variation Of The English Translation

Kalidasa, the brightest star in the sky of the ancient Sanskrit literature, has been well known for his masterpiece Sakuntala. William Jones, the long-remembered British Orientalist, first called Kalidasa the "Indian Shakespeare"; German literary figure Goethe eulogized Sakuntala saying that the piece embraced the essence of the time and the life; Mandju in modern China communicated fully and aesthetically what Goethe has said about Sakuntala in Chinese. Great as it is, no due importance has been attached to the exploration of the text, still less has a comparative study of different translations of the piece been undertaken, as I have endeavoured to do by reading the available translations from Sanskrit into Chinese and English, and placing them in the perspective of Indian culture, Chinese Culture, and English culture. Thus I have endeavoured to show the interactions between source and target cultures through translation, where the source language is Sanskrit, and English and Chinese are the media of communication. My thesis, entitled On Transformed Translations Of Sakuntala In English And Chinese Worlds is developed following the lines of chronological variations of Sakuntala translations in both English-speaking and Chinese-speaking worlds, in Britain, America, India and China, to be specific. The keys to the secret of the variations of the translations are the texts and paratexts attached to them, which reveal the hints of variation trend for a specific case. Medio-translatology, close-reading of the text, literary reception theory, imagology and the theory of variation drawn from the theory of comparative literature have been used in close reading of the text and the paratext of the translations for tracing the flow of variation and, beyond that, for the exploration of Sakuntala as a masterpiece of Kalidasa in the context of’world literature’.In the Introduction, we start with discussion on the author of Sakuntala and his writings, a literature review of Sakuntala study in English and Chinese worlds, and a brief exposition of the significance and methodology of the present research, including clarification of some key words. Although Kalidasa was not so prolific compared with Shakespeare, he is still the best-known in poetic and dramatic creations in that particular period of Sanskrit literature, Sakuntala being known as the best ofin all of his creations. In both English and Chinese literature reviews, it has been identified that Sakuntala has been evaluated and judged through different translations and the focus is always solely on artistic appreciation while little effort has been made to analyse it from the perspective of translation studies. In China, Shakespeare study outweighs Kalidasa study, which has not been equal to his fame as a dramatist of world-fame. And much more has been done concerning Sakuntala in the English-speaking world than in China, which is a fact to be recognized and a gap to be filled. As far as the significance of the research is concerned, it has to be admitted that Kalidasa is not only a dramatist of world fame, but also a cultural scholar of the broadest view. He has mirrored in his writings not only the culture and people of India, but also the attributes of the human being. In other words, he has left a heritage which belongs to the whole world. This is why the present paper is a part of the effort in cultivating the classic. In combing different translations of Sakuntala, either synchronically or diachronically, we have not only been furthering the study of Sakuntala as a text, but also addressing some gaps and anomalies of cross-cultural reception identified in the literature review. The present research will not only help to understand the workings of Sanskrit drama and Chinese drama in a comparative framework, but also expects to prepare a conversation between Chinese and English scholars through Sakuntala study. Researchers of different cultural and aesthetic backgrounds will come to identify themselves in the study and recognize the diversity and universality of human culture. This will contribute to better understanding and better communication between peoples of different cultural backgrounds. And it is from the intercultural perspective that the paper, following the traces of different translations, in analyzing different factors effecting variations in different translations, attempts to recognize the charm of the dramatic and aesthetic value of Sakuntala.The body of the present paper is composed of four chapters. Chapter One, supported by the literature review, mainly discusses the evolution of Sakuntala in ancient Indian culture. While a study of the variation in translations traces how the dramatic piece has been differently represented from one translation to another, the evolution of Sakuntala in ancient Indian culture focuses on what has contributed to the birth of Sakuntala. Kalidasa’s Sakuntala was based on the story from Mahabharata but varies a lot from it in characterization and theme and other aspects. The Kamasutra, The Manu Law, and The Natyashastra can be traced to have been used in composing Sakuntala and the dramatic piece reveals the dynamics of ancient Indian culture in these aspects. Also from the perspective of artistic treatise and tradition, Kalidasa has been identified to have learned from his predecessors. In the transmission of Sakuntala, the variation is best illustrated by the variations between the four recensions, exemplified by the Devanagari and the Bengali recensions.Chapter Two focuses on the study of classic Sakuntala translations in a chronological order in the English-Speaking world, in which Orientalism, colonialism, and Indian nationalism were all given play in both texts and paratexts, sometimes mixed, sometimes confronted and sometimes succeeded, which can only be revealed through close reading of the texts.Chapter Three explores how the historic factors and the subjective preferences, which are partially cultural codes and demands, are interfering with the text variations of Sakuntala translations in Chinese-speaking world, especially in China (mainland). Lu Qian, Mi Wenkai, and Ji Xianlin were all concerned either with seeking the roots of Chinese dramatic art or the mending the widening fissure between Chinese and Indian Culture which were neighbors and once shared a long history of communication. Their efforts and ambitions are woven into the text variations of Sakuntala in China while Wang Weike, working on compiling staff with the press, worked too freely with the texts and altered more than prudent. But they all give some credit to the masterpiece of Kalidasa. The Sanskrit-Chinese translation of Sakuntala by Ji Xianlin, with promoting India-China friendship as its prior motive, has brought non-Buddhist dramatic art piece into the literary discussion in China and therefore has found its due significance.Chapter Four comes to the in-depth analysis of differences in text and stage variations between the two worlds, supported by the preceding factual analysis. Chinese and English variations in translations reveal their respective approaches to Sakuntala: While Chinese texts tend to approach it as it was with Indian colors, English-speaking worlds tend to decolorize the ’Indian’ hues. A look into Indian culture through the drama helps to understand the details of this variation.On Transformed Translations Of Sakuntala In English And Chinese Worlds has attempted to capture a global picture of the long history and varied lives of Sakuntala translations, after a multi-dimensional examination of the play, with bilingual resources through a cross-cultural examination involving English, Chinese and Indian cultures.Different dramatic traditions and different approaches by the individual interpreters from different backgrounds to Sakuntala, help to unveil the true image of Sakuntala as a world classic. In the open interpretations of the work, all the factors have been giving their due contribution to result in a dynamic process.Besides, in a chronological close reading of the variations in English and Chinese translations of Sakuntala, the paper here has covered four Chinese translations of Sakuntala, with three versions partially or fully being indirect translations from English and one direct translation from Sanskrit, and six translations of Sakuntala from Sanskrit into English. This attempt has no precedence literary scholarship. In tracing the variation course of Sakuntala translations, the paper attaches special importance to identifying any filtering effect and variations escaping the past examination and correcting and confirming what has been mistaken, thus entitling the paper to the claim of a combination of macro and micro research, the latter in close-reading being the priority. The paper has, for the first time, examined the variations of Sakuntala from the perspective of British, Chinese and Indian culture when English and Chinese are the media of translation, and this reveals more than what has been unveiled of the mystery of Sakuntala, whose adaptations on British, American stages and Chinese Spoken Opera stage reveal more than what the translations can tell. What has been done here is a part of what predecessors like Ji Xianlin had been doing in furthering the inquiry into the impact of Indian literature in the world, in promoting further development of cultural interaction between India and China, and in promoting better understanding and communication between literatures and civilizations and among those who live in and enjoy it. Facing a shrinking world and accelerating pace of multi-polarization in world culture, the author of the paper is also presenting what he has written to a more harmonious future where difference is respected, but unity is aspired for among human beings.