The Cultural Context In Translating Classical Chinese Poetry

This paper aims at exploring how to present the cultural context in translating classical Chinese poetry into English. Some previous researches show that the semantic loss in the process of translating is predetermined by cultural discrepancies, which even make classical Chinese poetry untranslatable. This paper presents an explorative analysis of the cultural context from a different prospective, puts forward a theoretical framework and the translation strategies to approach functional equivalence at the cultural level in classical Chinese poetry translation, and demonstrates them with case studies.Research in this paper is conducted as follows. First, the paper argues that cultural losses in translating classical Chinese poetry mainly result from those easily evaporated cultural elements in the cultural context through a literature review. Second, on the basis of case studies, these factors are discerned and defined as historical, geographical and social elements respectively. In details, historical elements are classified into historical figures and events, legends and literary works; geographical elements include names of places and natural phenomena; social elements are comprised of the way of life and the social system. Third, the corresponding translation strategies, steps and skills are put forward. It suggests that translators should adapt to the cultural context of the source language, first perceiving these cultural elements in the source language and then presenting them in the target language. The translator could take the following measures such as adding footnotes for literal translation, or establishing a most similar cultural context in the target language for free translation.In conclusion, it argues that what have caused cultural losses during translating classical Chinese poems are mainly those easily evaporated cultural elements, which make the cultural context hard to be presented in translated poems and keeps target readers from appreciating them. Translators should discern historical, geographical and social elements in the cultural context and make text choices according to the source language so as to transfer traditional Chinese culture to target readers and attain functional equivalence at the cultural level.