Abstract: Poetry translation uses an artistic language with aesthetic function. Therefore, when a poetic work produced in one language environment is "transplanted" into another language environment, in order to enable the recipient to produce the same artistic effect as the original work when reading it, it is extremely necessary to use creative and rebellious translation techniques , it can even be said that this is the key to determining whether poetry translation can become translated literature. Taking the creative rebellion in the English translation of Chinese poetry by Xu Yuanchong and Pound as examples, this paper discusses the necessity of creative rebellion in poetry translation. On this basis, it explores the dialectical relationship between creativity and restriction that the subject of poetry translation can control in translation.
Keywords: poetry translation; creative rebellion; Xu Yuanchong; Pound; restriction
1. The necessity of creative rebellion in poetry translation
Poetry translation, What is used is an artistic language with aesthetic function. This kind of language should be able to reproduce the artistic world and artistic image created by the author of the original poem through his image thinking. Therefore, when a poetic work produced in one language environment is "transplanted" into another language environment, in order for readers of the translation to have the same artistic enjoyment as readers of the original work, the translation must become the same art as the original work. Taste. In this case, poetry translation is no longer a simple conversion of language and text, but a creative work.
The British Lakeside poet Coleridge once said: Literary works are "the best words in the best order (the best words, the best arrangement)", but the best original text becomes the right Equal translations are not necessarily the best translations, because Western texts are relatively close, and equivalent translations are likely to achieve the best results. However, there is a large gap between Chinese and Western texts, and each has its own advantages, so equivalent translations often cannot achieve the best results. To achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to take advantage of the translation language. That is to say, if the translation is to achieve a more satisfactory effect, it must rely on the Chinese theory of reinvention or divine similarity.
In actual poetry translation, creativity and rebelliousness are actually a harmonious organism, and the two are interdependent and complementary. Therefore, the French literary sociologist Robert Escarpit proposed a term - "creative rebellion" (creative rebellion). He proposed in the book "Literary Sociology": "Translation is always a creative rebellion. "If translation is rebellious, it is because it places the work in a completely unexpected reference system (referring to language); if translation is creative, it is because it gives the work a new look and enables it to A new literary exchange with a wider audience; but also because it not only prolongs the life of the work, but also gives it a second life” (Escapi, 1987:137). Therefore, creative rebellion is extremely necessary in poetry translation.
2. The creative rebellion of Xu Yuanchong and Pound’s Chinese poetry translation into English
The creative rebellion of poetry translation is particularly prominent in poetry translation. The poet places special emphasis on refining words and sentences. In the process of using language, he not only abides by language norms, but also transcends language norms - that is, creatively using language or creating language. The language beauty of poetry is an important part of the overall beauty of poetry. Without or ignoring the beauty of poetry's language, the beauty of poetry will be impossible to talk about. The creation of poetry is like this, and the translation of poetry is like this. In the English translation of ancient Chinese poetry, the translations of Xu Yuanchong and Pound have great influence. The following will explore the specific application of their creative rebellion through a comparison of their translation theories.
On the basis of inheriting the previous theories, Xu Yuanchong developed his life-long translation experience and proposed the translation theory "Optimization Theory", which can be expressed in the ten words "the art of beautification, creating excellence is like a competition" To summarize, it can be divided into the following three theories: "Three theories of beauty" (beauty of meaning, beauty of sound, and beauty of form) is the ontology of translated poetry. Among the three beauties, the beauty of meaning is the most important, the beauty of sound is the second, and the beauty of form is the last. In other words, translation is the creation of beauty, so spiritual similarity is better than physical similarity. We must strive to achieve all three beauties on the premise of conveying the beauty of the original text. The "Three Transformations Theory" (deepening, equalization, and superficialization) is the methodology for translating poetry. Using methods such as adding words, changing words, and subtracting words respectively, we strive to achieve a state of spiritual similarity through free translation. The "three theories" (knowing, liking, and enjoying) are the teleology of poetry translation. To know it is to make people understand it, which is the basic requirement of translation; then to ask it to be good, to make people like it; and the highest state is to enjoy it, to make people happy.
The "re-creation theory" of literary translation constitutes one of the cores of Xu Yuanchong's translation thoughts. He believes that creative translation is not "absolutely free". It should create something that is in the deep content of the original text but not in the surface form of the original text. In other words, it must be "faithful to the intention of the original work." Creating beauty is the greatest pleasure in the world and the highest goal of literary translation (Xu Yuanchong, 2003:16). Xu Yuanchong's theory of reinvention places great emphasis on the creation of beauty. Its main points are as follows: 1. Translation should make readers happy and enjoy beauty, as if the original author is writing in the target language; 2. The skill of translation, in the final analysis, is nothing more than getting rid of the original text. The constraints of the surface structure, but the free use of the target language for re-creation; 3. The higher the translator's talent, the more prominent the creative personality characteristics will be.
An important task of literary translators in the new century is to make literary translation become translated literature; 4. The English translation of Chinese poetry must be innovative and innovative in order to convey the charm of the original poem - Xu Yuanchong emphasized that: translated poetry should first be Poetry, literary translation should be raised to the level of literary creation; 5. The inner meaning of the theory of reinvention refers to reinvention in language, rather than reinvention in content - the art of translation is to "do what one wants without going beyond the rules": "Not transgressing the rules" means not violating the spirit of the original text, while "following the heart's will" means recreating the text by maximizing the advantages of the translated language on the basis of not transgressing the rules. 6. The characteristic of transcreation is to give full play to the advantages of the target language, that is, to use the best way of expression in the target language, which can be summed up in three words: "Xin Da Yu". The translation of Chinese and foreign literature in the new century should follow the path of transcreation, so that China's excellent culture can be integrated into world culture, making world culture more and more colorful (Zhang Zhizhong, 2005: 48).
Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was not only a famous American poet, writer, and critic in the 20th century, but also a famous translator of Chinese literature and classics. He translated or rewritten ancient Chinese poems based on the manuscripts of Emest Fenollosa (1853-1908) and published Cathay (1915). William Yip spoke highly of "Chinese Collection" and believed that it was "an axis point" in the development of Pound's poetics in many aspects. "Even as a translation, "Chinese Collection" should be regarded as a re-creation" (Yip William ,1969:97). Pound was the main initiator of Imagist poetry. The "daily new" theory of new poetry he advocated was pioneering in both poetry creation and poetry translation. Pound believed that the translator was the subject of translation and controlled the entire translation process. Therefore, his translations not only reflected his distinctive personality characteristics, but also reflected that he was a rebel. In order to recreate the indelible part of poetry, he Even violent modifications to the original work are essentially a kind of re-creation. In Pound's eyes, the original poem and its author are not important. They are the voices of the deceased. What is important is the reader's association. The meaning of the original work must serve to construct current thoughts. When Pound's friend read him a translation of Homer, he found that the translation only focused on the simplicity and understandability of the language, but lost the philosophy of life and beautiful language in the original poem, so Pound put forward several suggestions for translation. Goals: 1. Reproduce the true language of the original text in the English translation; 2. Be faithful to the "meaning" and "atmosphere" of the original text (that is, the associative meanings within and outside the text). He believes that the energy of language is inseparable, like a connecting line, dating back to ancient times and continuing to the present. Although the nationalities are different, the mixed and intertwined words can connect people together.