A Study On Rhyme In Chinese-to-English Poetry Translation

As a representative of Chinese poetry, quatrains are commonly enjoyed by people for their concise language, regular form, short line and profound artistic conception. Translating Chinese poems into English is an effective way to inherit and spread classical Chinese poetry and culture. It is a task for translators to render Chinese poems into English without losing the original essence. As one of the important features of traditional poetry, rhyme can be considered as one of the essences of Chinese poems. The smart and deliberate use of various rhyming devices creates many great examples of retaining the beauty of sounds and meanings. This paper is intended to study the classification, usage, function and significance of the rhyme in both languages by analyzing and discussing the translating methods and strategies for translating Chinese poems into English rhymed verses, which can provide some help for those who want to engage in translating Chinese poems into English. This research will be based on the quatrains from Three Hundred Poems of Tang Dynasty translated by Xu Yuanchong as (?)research materials, in an attempt to contribute theoretically and practically to the translation of quatrains into English.This study suggests that:1. There are the translatability and operability in translating rhymed Chinese poems into rhymed English verses. Compared with translated prose or blank verse, the rhymed verse reserves more prosodic essence of Chinese poems.2. Under the premise of retaining the meaning of the original poems, rhyme and other rhyming device can be properly translated into various prosodic forms in English including alliteration, assonance and consonance, as well as rhyme.3. To translate the rhyme of Chinese poetry into English can convey not only the particular form and meaning, but also Chinese traditional culture and poetic artistic forms.