A Study on the Translation of Tang Poetry fromthe Perspective of Relevance Theory

【Abstract】As the theoretical basis of cognitive pragmatics， the relevance theory can well explain translation phenomenon. Translation is an ostensive-inferential process which interprets the source language. This paper makes a research on the application of relevance theory to translation through the comparison and analysis of different versions of Chang Gan Xing. Focusing on translators understanding of the original text， the paper will try to find the optimal relevance between the original text and the translation.

【Key words】relevance theory； ostensive-inferential process； Tang poetry； translation

1. Introduction

As we all know， Tang poetry is an important cultural treasure in China. Nowadays， it is important and necessary to spread our culture to the world. In the same time， more and more foreign scholars pay attention to Chinese culture， especially to Tang poetry. Therefore， the translation of Tang poetry is very significant and meaningful. This paper applies the relevance theory to the translation of Tang poetry. By comparing different versions of Chang Gan Xing， the paper wants to make the translators pay attention to the context and images in the poems and try their best to find the optimal relevance. It also wants to prove that the relevance theory has advantages in guiding the Tang poetry translation.

2. Theoretical Background

Sperber and Wilson （2001） point out that every act of ostensive communication communicates the presumption of its own optimal relevance. A person is always assumed to communicate something that enables the hearer to find his intention without unnecessary effort and the intention is worth the hearers effort when it provides the hearer with enough benefits.

The relevance theory gives strong explanatory power to translation. Translation is regarded as a communication. In the relevance theory， the translation is regarded as a dual ostensive-inferential process， which means the translation has two ostensive-inferential processes. In the first ostensive-inferential process， the translator plays a role of an audience or receptor and the original text author is a communicator. In the second ostensive-inferential process， the translator becomes a communicator and the target language readers become the audience. The translator should understand the inference of the source writers communication and make stimulus to the target language receptor. So in translation， there are two communicators and two receptors， and the translator can be both the communicator and the receptor. So the translator has dual roles in translation.endprint

3. Comparison and Analysis

Two different English versions of Chang Gan Xing are analyzed from the perspective of relevance theory. The two different versions are respectively translated by Pound and Xu Yuanchong.

Chang Gan Xing is a poem which expresses the love and farewell of a merchants wife. This poem is the internal monologue of the merchants wife. So we can see that Pound mistranslates the title of this poem because he translates the title into The River-merchants Wife： A Letter. In fact， this poem is not a letter that can be received by the husband.

The first stanza（妾發初覆额，折花门前剧） introduces the little girl whose forehead is not totally covered by hairs and she plays with flowers. Both of the two translators express the loveliness and innocence of the little girl. Both of them find the optimal relevance between the original text and the target text.

In the second stanza（郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅）， the little boy appears on the scene. In this stanza， Pound translates “竹马” into “bamboo stilts， playing horse”. Obviously， he does not understand Chinese culture well. We all know that “竹马” is a bamboo pole and the little boy likes to put it between two legs and run here and there. Pound mistranslates it into “stilts”， and separates the two words， which should be a whole and just shows one meaning. Pound cannot translate it correctly because of the lack of knowledge of the Chinese culture. He cannot understand the original text communicators intention so his translation does not convey the right information. He violates the optimal relevance principle. The translation of Xu Yuanchong is also not totally correct， for example， “hobby-horse” expresses the naughty of the little boy.

In the forth stanza（十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开）， the target text writer Li Bai depicts a picture that the girl marries the boy and because she cannot adapt herself to the new identity as a bride， she feels bashful. Pound translates the sentence into “At fourteen I married My Lord you， I never laughed， being bashful”. He shows that the girl is bashful， but the translation “I never laughed” is incorrect. At the wedding， the woman should not be unhappy. In ancient China， being shy in front of the husband at the wedding shows that the wife is a nice woman. Therefore， the translation “I never laughed” destroys the artistic conception. This translation may convey the wrong information that the woman is unhappy， and the target language reader may not understand the meaning correctly. Under this circumstance， the target language readers cannot grasp the original text writers intention. Xu Yuanchong translates it into “I was fourteen when I became your bride， Id often turn my bashful face aside” is better because the translation is much closer to the original meaning of this poem.endprint

In the seventh stanza， two allusions are used. The first allusion is a story of a young man named Wei（韋生）. Wei is waiting for his lover under a bridge. Even though the tide rises， he does not break his promise and still waits for his lover. At last， he sacrifices his life but he keeps his promise forever. Pounds translation “Forever and forever and forever” indeed expresses the loyalty of the heroine， but he avoids translating the allusion. By reading his translation， the target language reader may not understand the inference of the source writer. Xus translation “Rather than break faith， you declared youd die” makes clear the allusion so it is a better translation. In this stanza， another allusion is a story of amah rock. In ancient time， Da Yu went out to control the flood and did not go back home although he passed his home three times. His wife missed Da Yu and looked at the direction where his husband controlled the water. In the end， she became a rock. Pound just uses “lookout” to describe her. It is puzzling. After all， Xu is a Chinese so he can understand the poem more easily than Pound. He can infer Li Bais intention and express it more clearly. Comparatively speaking， it is hard for Pound to completely understand the poem and translate it correctly.

In the ninth stanza（五月不可触，猿声天上哀）， Pound totally mistranslates the first half sentence. Here， “五月” refers to the flood season in the Yangtze River. In that period of time， the Three Gorges is very dangerous and shipwrecks often happen. The gibbons sorrowful noise shows the danger of a long journey and the worry of the woman. The gibbons noise is the subjective imagination of the woman. She misses her husband and thinks of the departure of her husband. It seems that she could hear the gibbons noise in her husbands travel. However， Pound translates “五月不可触” into “And you have been gone five months”， which is strange and totally wrong. The target language reader will feel puzzling when they read Pounds translation. Obviously， Pound does not find the optimal relevance. However， Xus translation expresses the danger of the husbands journey.

To sum up， Xu Yuanchongs translation is better than Pounds translation. Xu Yuanchong is a Chinese translator so he can understand the meaning of the poem more easily. He can convey the correct information to the target language readers. However， it is difficult for Pound to understand the Chinese culture， especially Tang poetry. So to some extent， he cannot understand the intention of Li Bai. The translation should be easy to be understood by the target language，so the readers can find the intention of the original text writer without unnecessary effort. The intention is worth the readers effort when the readers are provided with enough benefits. Evidently， Pound fails to do it and he hasnt found the optimal relevance.endprint

4. Conclusion

Through the analysis and comparison of the translation of Chang Gan Xing from the perspective of relevance theory， it can be proved that the relevance theory has advantage in guiding the study of Tang poetry translation. We can easily find that Xu Yuanchongs translation is better than Pounds. Xu Yuanchong has known lots of about Chinese culture， so he can understand the meaning and images in the poem more easily. It is comparatively hard for Pound to understand the poem. The better the translators understand the poems， the better they will translate the poems. The profound understanding of the poems can help the Chinese translators understand the context of the poems better. Thus it is easier for them to find the optimal relevance between the original text and the target text， so that the target language readers can better understand the poems when they read these versions. Therefore， in Tang poetry translation， above all， the translator must try his best to infer the writers intention and understand the meaning of the poem. Only in this way can the translator search for the optimal relevance and convey the correct information to the target language readers.

References：

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作者简介：张璐（1992.04-），女，江蘇南京人，汉族，硕士，学生，研究方向：英语语言学。endprint