Abstract

Hong Lou Meng is the one of the Four Great Classical Novels, a magnum opus in the history of Chinese classical literature and a masterpiece of Chinese traditional culture. A lot of poems are interspersed in this book. They are used to render the atmosphere of the scenes, or to foil the image of characters, or to link the preceding and the following content, which delivery the Chinese culture on the highest level. In chapter 27 of the book, the poem Zanghua Yin recited by Lin Daiyu is a classical masterpiece. It is one of the poems which have been praised by most people praise and have great artistic value in Hong Lou Meng. It is not only the portrayal of the life of Lin Daiyu, but also her feeling of unfairness and shouting for the dark society.

Since the first version of Zanghua Yin was published in 1892, there have been eight versions in record until now. However, all the English versions have certain differences from the original text in the aspects of writing style, wording and phrasing or sentence rhythm. Therefore, many experts and scholars at home and abroad begin to study the translation versions and do the improving work of translation. These studies are mainly about a certain translation or many aspects between a number of different versions, involving a variety of translation elements and translation skills.

 This paper makes a comparative study about the original version of Zanghua Yin and the two representative English versions from the focus on the translation of rhetorical devices. It does the comparative analysis from three aspects of the semantic rhetoric, structural rhetoric and phonological rhetoric by using qualitative research method, literature research method and quantitative research method to discuss the some certain translatability and untranslatability in the translation of poems and some compensation strategies. 

Keywords: Zanghua Yin; English versions; rhetorical devices; translation 

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-3

2.1 Rhetorical style and Translation-3

2.1.1 Definition of Rhetorical Style-3

2.1.2 Relationship between Rhetoric and Translation-3

2.2 Paradox of translation—translatability and untranslatability-4

2.3 Zanghua Yin and Two English Versions-6

2.3.1 Zanghua Yin by Cao Xueqin-6

2.3.2 Two English Versions by Yang Xianyi and Hawkes-7

3. Comparative Study of Rhetorical Style of Two English Versions-8

3.1 Appreciation of the Original Poem-8

3.2 Semantic Rhetoric-8

3.2.1 Metaphor-8

3.2.2 Metonymy-9

3.2.3 Personification-10

3.2.4 Euphemism-11

3.2.5 Pun-12

3.2.6 Allusion-12

3.3 Structural Rhetoric-13

3.3.1 Antithesis-13

3.3.2 Repetition-14

3.3.3 Catchword Repetition-15

3.4 Phonological Rhetorical device-16

3.4.1 Rhyme-16

4. Conclusion-17

4.1 Limitations of Poetry Translation and Some Compensation Strategies-17

References-19