Abstract：Ezra Pound, one of the leading figures of British and American modern poetry, has made a great contribution in spreading Chinese culture and poetry to the western countries. Li Bai’s Changgan Xing is one of the most sensational poems among his many translations. Owing to the different cultures they lived in, there are many differences between his version and Li Bai’s original poem in poetic imagery, and the differences often result in the fact that readers are unable to appreciate the beauty of the original poem. This article probes the reasons of the differences from the perspective of cultural roots by comparing Ezra Pound’s translation with the original, and finds four elements that lead to the differences in poetic imagery between Ezra Pound’s version and the original. They are different cultural connotations between the Chinese word and its English equivalent, the unique allusions in Chinese culture, different understanding of Chinese cultural terms, and the unique writing features of Chinese poems. This thesis concludes that proper understanding of foreign cultures should be given first importance in the process of translating.

Key Words:  Ezra Pound   Changgan Xing  poetic imagery  cultural roots

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1. 1 Brief Introduction of Li Bai’s Changgan Xing-1

1. 2 Brief Introduction of Ezra Pound's Version-2

Chapter Two The Differences between Ezra Pound's Translation and Li Bai's Original                        in Poetic Imagery.4

2. 1 The Concept of Poetic Imagery4

2. 2 Differences between Pound's Version and Li Bai's Original in Poetic Imagery.4

Chapter Three The Culture Roots of Differences in Poetic Imagery.8

3. 1 The Cultural Differences8

3. 1. 1 The Eastern Culture in Which Li Bai Lived.8

3. 1. 2 The Western Culture in Which Pound Lived9

3. 2 The Importance of Understanding Cultural Differences When Translating.9

3. 3 The Reasons of Differences in Poetic Imagery from Cultural Roots 10

3.3.1 Different Cultural Connotations between the Chinese Word and its English Equivalent10

3. 3. 2 The Allusions in Chinese Culture.10

3. 3. 3 Different Understanding of the Cultural Terms10

3. 3. 4 The Writing Features of Chinese Poetry-11

Chapter Four Conclusion-12

References-13