ASudyonYangHsien-yi’sPoeryTranslaionMehodsin“ADreaminRedMansions”_开题报告

Literature review  

A Dream of Red Mansions written by Cao xueqin in Qing Dynasty is one of the Chinese Four Masterpiece implied with Chinese traditional culture, history, literature, artistic, ect fulfilled. Until today, it has been translated into over a dozens of foreign languages including 9 English versions and enjoys high reputation all around the world.

Among which, ancient poems of diversity are indispensable for the whole book and they own a resplendent artistic value. In recent years, relevant researches in the poetry’s translation have flourished. Professor Wang Hongyin from Nankai University published《<红楼梦>诗词曲赋英译比较研究》in 2001, which signified a good beginning of systematic research on its translation. 

Master Zheng enyue from Zhejiang educational university investigated personal perspective problem in his dissertation《谈谈<红楼梦>诗词英译的人称角度》 in 1993, proved the importance to keep focal point and foothold accordance with the poet, and his/her translate angle should also be paralleled. 

To some extent, poems originally are written for singing as these are full of rhythmic beauty. On study the Drawn Brows and Burying the Flowers, Master Peng linhui published a dissertation 《Singing Analysis on the Vocal concert A dream of Red Mansions》which provide a special aethetics theory based on “ understanding comes first”.

Besides, various articles were written to research into the translation of poetry in HLM. Such as: “An analysis of Several Poems in the English Version of Hong Lou Meng by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang”(1998), “The Translation of the Cultural Contents of Poems in Hongloumeng” (2004), “The Comparative Study of the Haoliaoge Zhu” (2004), “On Foreignization and Domestication from the Poem Translation of Hong Lou Meng” (2004) etc.

These books and articles are very helpful for the researchers and translators to deepen their studies in the poetry translation in A Dream of Red Mansions and improve their translation technique. 

At present, there have been only two complete English-translated versions: One is A Dream of Red Mansions translated by Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys Yang, the other is The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and his son-in-law John Minford. When the two versions appeared one after the other during 1970s, the translation field was shaken. 

Professor Zhou Jueliang made his comment on the two versions as follows:

Despite different styles presented in these two versions, both of them achieved the goals set by their translators. The version by David Hawkes is famous for its elegance, while Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang’s is remarkable for accuracy…If reading them together, those who are unable to read the original will acquire the real and complete picture about this novel as they do read(Zhou1994:350).

This thesis takes Yang Hsien-yi’s translated version as example, analyzing their poetry translation method, and discuss how to retain the original work’s traditional culture and values when translate either in the method of literally or freely, The author hopes this article would present a research and practice reference for translate workers and educators.

1. Introduction

1.1. Introduction of the Original Author Cao Xueqin and the Translator Yang Hsien-yi

1.2. General Introduction of A Dream in Red Mansions

2. Poetry Translation

2.1. Xu Yuanchong’s Three Beauties”.

2.2. Three Beauties Principle in Yang Hsien-yi’s Poetry Translation.

3. Analysis on the Yang Hsien-yi’s Poetry Translation Method 

3.1. Method of Literal Translation and Free Translation

3.2. Analyze Literal Translation Applied in Yang Hsien-yi’s Poetry Translation. 

3.3. Analyze Free Translation Applied in Yang Hsien-yi’s Poetry Translation.

4. Conclusion .

Bibliography:

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