On The Scientificity Of Qian Zhongshu's "Sublimation Theory"

Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998),a cultural elite and preeminent scholar in China,was well versed in learning of both China and Western countries.He ranged his studies from philology to philosophy, and from poetics to aesthetics.His discourses on translation studies have drawn widespread attention among Chinese translation.theorists and practitioners,and scholars in the literary circle as well.Especially his "Sublimation Theory",put forward in Lin Shu's Translations,has enjoyed high prestige in the Chinese translation circle, and has exerted a tremendous impact on China's translation study.Mr.Qian did not have a translation theory in the full sense of the word,and his translation practices were scattered here and there in his academic works.Very few people in the translation circle have made a comprehensive,systematic and scientific study of "Sublimation",and even fewer translators understand its real connotations. To many people,the theory is highly abstract, mysterious and unattainable,just like a mirage or an attic in the air.At present,there are three main perspectives in studying Qian's "Sublimation Theory",which are quotation,interpretation and the application of the theory to translation criticism.Current studies are carrying different features respectively,but there have been no remarkable breakthrough for quite a long time.Through summarizing previous studies,reading Qian's works and relevant materials,the author illustrates the seientificity of "Sublimation Theory" by combing theory, practice and application three aspects. Qian started learning English at fourteen.At the age of nineteen,he entered Foreign Languages Department of Qinghua University,and began his early translation activities by writing some articles on translation problems.Through reading a large number of Western works in at least seven foreign languages,he made foundations for brilliant translation practice in his later great works--On the Art of Poetry and Guan Zhui Bian.While conducting academic researches,he paid much attention to translation study.Qian Zhongshu absorbed Chinese and Western translation theories by studying translation history and theorists both at home and abroad.He combined his theoretical studies with his experience in translation practice.In 1964,he put forward "Sublimation Theory" in Lin Shu's Translations.It is based on his rich experience accumulated in Qian's translation practice and painstaking studies on traditional and modem translation theories both at home and abroad.In addition, after being presented,Qian's theory has been followed by translators,who have scored great success in literary translation.The scientificity of "Sublimation Theory" is thus successfully tested by application.On the whole,the paper focuses on the scientificity of Qian's "Sublimation Theory"; and it centers on its theoretical foundations,practical accumulation and wide application in literary translation.