A Contrastive Study On The English Translation Of Li Qingzhao’s Ci From The Perspective Of Jakobson’s Poetic Function Theory

Song ci,commonly translated as Song lyrics,is the essence of traditional Chinese culture.As a special literary form,Song ci possesses a very important place in the history of classical Chinese literature.Compared with Tang poetry,Song ci has a more flexible form and can more precisely express detailed,and subtle emotions with its delicate and exquisite language,which has won it wide acclaim.Song ci can be divided into two schools: the graceful and restrained school,and the bold school.Li Qingzhao is one of the most representative female poets in the history of Chinese literature.As the representative of the graceful school,she is praised for her elegant diction,fluent style,and deep emotion.She has received more and more attention not only in China but also abroad,and more and more translators and publishers are working hard to translate her works and introduce them to a wide range of readers.However,the difficulty of translating classical Chinese poetry is well-known,and there is no uniform standard.In this thesis,the author selects the works of Li Qingzhao and analyzes whether the translations properly convey the poetic meaning of the original text and how to better improve the translation from the perspective of Jacobson’s poetics.The principle of equivalence proposed by Jacobson’s poetics explores the mechanism behind the formation of poems,in which he emphasizes that the parallel structure contains correspondence at all levels of phonology,semantics,and syntax.Previous studies on the translation of Li Qingzhao’s works have mostly analyzed the translations from the perspectives of aesthetics,rhetoric,feminism,etc.Based on these studies,this thesis selects two translations of Li Qingzhao’s works,one of which is translated by Mr.Xu Yuanchong,and the other is the complete translation of Li Qingzhao’s ci co-translated by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung.Based on Jakobson’s linguistic poetics,this thesis proposes three research questions: 1.What is the embodiment of Jakobson’s poetic functional theory in Li Qingzhao’s ci poetry? 2.What is the specific presentation of poetic restoration in the translations of the two translators? 3.What and why are the similarities and differences between the two translators’ translations? The aim is to analyze and compare the specific manifestations of poetic restoration in the translation by two translators and their impact on the translation of ci,and to optimize translation methods and strategies.This thesis focuses more on the poetic expression of the works themselves and their reproduction by the translators,to promote the translators’ more effective and successful transmission of Chinese culture in translating Chinese classical poetry.This thesis is divided into five chapters: Chapter one is the introduction,which introduces the background and significance of this thesis,the research questions,the research method,and the structure of the thesis.The second chapter is literature review,which reviews the studies of the English translation of Li Qingzhao’s ci at home and abroad and the studies of Jacobson’s poetics.Chapter three is the theoretical framework,which briefly introduces Jacobson’s poetics theory,and then combines Jacobson’s poetics with the English translation of Li Qingzhao’s works,that is,sets out the analytical framework of this thesis based on this theory.Chapter four is the main chapter of the thesis,which is a poetic analysis of Li Qingzhao’s works and their translations.In the conclusion section,the thesis points out that the two translators translated differently due to their different life backgrounds,translation styles,and translation purposes.Xu Yuanchong mostly uses free translation,supplemented by amplification and direct translation,which focuses on restoring the connotation of the original ci and preserving the rhythm of the original ci.It can be said that the reader can grasp the original ci to a great extent,while the joint translation by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung is mainly a literal translation,supplemented by methods of adding and omitting and free translation.Their attention is paid to ensuring the equivalence and restoration of the meaning of the original ci.While ensuring the fidelity of the meaning,they ignore the phonetic and formal equivalence,which undoubtedly loses the poetic feature of the ci.If the translator can achieve the maximum equivalence of the internal elements and all levels of the ci from the perspective of Jacobson’s poetics,then the translation is undoubtedly the greatest restoration of poetic essence.