A Study Of The English Translation Of Classical Chinese Poetry By Hans Hermman Frankel

Hans Hermann Frankel（1916-2003）is the first professional American sinologist in the 20th century to translate large amounts of classical Chinese poetry.Despite his academic influence and status,no systematic research has been conducted in China and beyond with regard to his translation of classical Chinese poetry.Based on Yale University archives of Hans H.Frankel and relevant literature at home and abroad,this four-chapter dissertation undertakes an in-depth study of Frankel’s lead-up to becoming a translator of classical Chinese poetry,his selection of poetry in translation,the features of his translation and the influence of of his translation from the perspectives of Chinese and Western poetics,medio-translatology and overseas sinology.Chapter Ⅰ tracks how Frankel shifted his focus to the translation of classical Chinese poetry and explores the distinctiveness of Frankel as a translator of classical Chinese poetry.Research finds that Frankel’s background in Western languages and literature was fundamental to his translation of classical Chinese poetry.His Chinese cultural and literary immersion in Peking motivated him to engage in sinology and translation.His translation of medieval Chinese history and compilation of previous translations paved the way for his translation of classical Chinese poetry.As the wife of Frankel,Ch’ung-ho Chang was an indispensable aide to his translation career.Frankel’s studies in Chinese poetry and his perspective of comparative poetry influenced his selection of poetry in translation and principle of translation.Chapter Ⅱ studies the general features and focal points of the poetry Frankel chose to translate.Research indicates that Frankel has translated wide-ranging genres of classical Chinese poetry with notable concentrations,and it’s the first time for many of them to be translated into English.This is the same for other professional American sinologists as translators in the second half of 20th century.Frankel’s translation has three focal points:poetry on plum blossom,poetry by Cao Zhi and yue-fu poetry,all of which were shaped under the influence of overseas sinology,Chinese and Western literary criticism as well as Frankel’s personal taste.Chapter Ⅲ analyzes the features of Frankel’s translation of classical Chinese poetry.Research demonstrates that Frankel’s principle was to restore the poetic distinctiveness of the original on the premise of accommodating the poetic distinctiveness of the translation.He gave prominence to the poetic distinctiveness of the original by reproducing major poetic elements and generic features of classical Chinese poetry,and he adapted to English poetic prosody,diction and syntax to retain the poetic distinctiveness of the translation.Frankel’s emphasis on the poetic distinctiveness of the original in translation results from his identity as the first American scholar to do purely literary studies of Chinese literature,and he tended to maximize that distinctiveness as his Chinese poetic studies deepened.Frankel organized the translated poems with concepts shared by Chinese poetics and Western poetics,which is conducive to their wider dissemination.Chapter Ⅳ studies the influence and status of Frankel’s translation of classical Chinese poetry.Results show that Frankel’s translation has enjoyed recognition in both academia and the public,and he set off the wave of translating poetry by Cao Zhi and yue-fu poetry.His translation principle of high formal equivalence has been inherited and carried forward by many translators that followed him.Frankel served as a crucial link between the era of amateur sinologists as the translator and the era of professional sinologists as the translator,and he pioneered the purely literary research on Chinese literature in America with his translation and studies of classical Chinese poetry.In this way,he laid the foundation for the prosperity of classical Chinese poetry translation and Chinese literary studies in America.To end up,this dissertation summarizes the achievements and contributions of Frankel in classical Chinese poetry translation and on this basis,shares thoughts on the selection and cultivation of translators,the content for translation,the methods of translation and the ways of dissemination in terms of Chinese literature going global.