浅议史耐德英译寒山诗的经典化

王娜娜

Abstract：The translator，Gary Snyder took Han Shans poems into another brilliant and splendid literature world where the “marginal poets” and “marginal poems” in Chinese literature stepped into the halls of the “center” and “canonization” of Western literature.

Key Words：Han Shan；Han Shans poems；Gary Snyder

In China， whether in ancient times or in contemporary era， Han Shan is not regarded as an important poet. His poems were not accepted by the conventional Chinese literature because of his vernacular language. Yet， in America Han Shan is widely accepted and esteemed highly and the translation of his poems is deemed as a cannon in American literature， especially Gary Snyder's version of Han Shans poems. The overseas “Han Shan fever” has made an impact on the literary circle in China. The different fortunes of Han Shans poems at home and abroad serve for a good evidence for James Hulberts statement， “we live and read and write in a world shaped by literary canon. The cannon itself is constantly undergoing redefinition and， indeed， exists in multiple versions at any one time.” （Hulbert，1965） In this thesis， the canonization of Snyders translation will be made to explain the reasons for of Han Shans poems.

Firstly， owing to Snyders personal impact. In the 1950s and1960s， many American poets became interested in foreign cultures， especially Chinese culture. Gary Snyder is one of them and a typically successful one who has absorbed the essence of traditional Chinese culture and integrated it with western culture. Indulged in Chinese culture since he was young， Snyder has been greatly influenced by Zen Buddhism， Taoism and Confucianism as he once called himself as “a Confucianist， Buddhist， Taoist socialist （Zhao，1982）. ” His idea of great nature serves as a good example. Another reason lies in his personal life experience. When he was in the Childhood， Snyder lived in a place surrounded by Cascades Mountain. Later on， when he came back from Japan， he settled in a mountain area. Enchanted with steep mountains and dark forests， Snyder has cultivated a mountain complex. Years of living in the mountains and unconscious influences by Zen Buddhism have enabled him to understand Han Shan much deeper and easier than others. That is one of the reasons that his translation has been thought highly of by the American youth and the other poets and academics. Moreover， Snyder's excellent translation skills have added poetic art to Han Shans poems， which has been an important reason for their popularity in the United States. Fackler once said， “Its Gary Snyders tightly organized and carefully unified cycle of Cold Mountain Poems which is truly significant work of poetic art.” （Fackler，1971）endprint

Secondly， because of selections of original texts.According to Chen Huijian， a scholar in Taiwan， there are about 314 Han Shan's poems left nowadays. These poems cover a wide range of topics. However， Snyder only selected 24 of them only， which are all related to the nature or Zen Buddhism. As a matter of fact， Snyder did not choose the poems randomly but deliberately. In general， the reasons can be summarized as below. First of all， Snyder has been interested in Chinese culture， especially Zen Buddhism. He has read numerous classical works of the East， Buddhist Scriptures， Chinese poems and Taoist works such as Dao De Jing. During the years between 1956 and 1968， Snyder visited Japan specially and lived there for nearly ten years in order to further study Zen Buddhism. To some extent， his enthusiasm towards Chinese Buddhist sutra and Zen has led to his choice of Han Shan's poems. Secondly， Snyders philosophy has been largely affected by Buddhism， Taoism and Confucianism. As early as 1950 when he studied in university， Snyder began to read the English version of Dao De Jing， the ideology of which was often adopted by him to support his own thoughts， for instance， his concept of Great Nature. It should be noted that Snyder has never been a pure Buddhist， Taoist or Confucianist. He often absorbed the part beneficial to shape his own ideas. Thirdly， as Snyder was fully aware of the social background at that time， his selection satisfied the social and cultural demands. As is known to all， after World War II American economy developed by leaps and bounds while various social problems began to emerge and sharpen. A huge number of American youth was strongly dissatisfied with and deeply doubted the western culture and religious tradition. They broke their ties with family and society and exiled themselves into wild woods， drank excessively and took drugs. Besides， pushed forward by the counterculture movement， Taoism and Zen Buddhism were well received in America in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore， the appearance of Han Shan caught these peoples eyes as he was described as a man who abandoned the life in the earthly world and lived alone on a cliff in the wilderness. As a person closely related to such a group of people or even a member of them， Snyder not only found some similarities between himself and Han Shan， but also specially chose and organized the poems so as to reinforce peoples impression on Han Shan， a spiritual leader of the Beats and hippies.endprint

Thirdly， as to translation method，Literal translation is adopted by Snyder in his translation. In the 1950s and 1960s， the Americans turned to oriental culture for a solution of their social and cultural problems. An exotic atmosphere and foreign culture were just what they longed for. Moreover， the values and philosophy expressed in Han Shans poems and the behaviors of Han Shan complied with their thoughts of being opposed to conventional bourgeois values. Thus， literal translation is preferred in his translation so as to create a fresh new world. For example，Snyder translated“黄老”to “Huang and Lao” literally In traditional Chinese culture， “Huang and Lao” is used to refer to Taoist doctrines. Yet， it is unfamiliar to the Americans who have little knowledge of Chinese culture but it is appealing to them.In the tenth poem， “黄泉” is translated to "Yellow Springs".

Fourthly，in terms of Ideology， as Lefevere defines it， is “the conceptual grid that

consists of opinions and attitudes deemed acceptable in a certain society at a certain time， and through which readers and translators approach texts”（Lefevere，1992）. Snyder's translation of Han Shans poems can be regarded as a classic example of rewriting due to some deliberate errors found in his translation， which can also be traced back to the ideological manipulation on his translating. For example， “煉药”and“求仙” in the 12th poem refers to Taoist's endeavor to refine elixir vitae for eternal life，but Snyder translated “炼药” into “tried drugs” as if Han Shan took drugs as what the Beat Generation did in the 1950s and 1960s. This was ridiculous to Chinese readers' mind， but it indeed struck a chord in American young peoples heart.So here the translation of“炼药”is a good example of deliberate error which is the result of rewriting under the manipulation of ideology.In the above example， the experience reflected by tried drugs； but couldnt make immortal made Beat Generation feel an affinity with the translated poem， which is one of the reasons why Snyders translation is so well received by them.

In the end， the thesis is still far from being perfect， since the canonization of Snyder's translation of Han Shans poems is indeed a special case in the literary history. The analysis should be deeper and more systematic and the conclusion reached from the analysis still has some limitations， i.e.， ignores the subjectivity of translator. However， it is expected that more attention can be paid to the studies of the translation of Han Shans poems and other Chinese poems in the future， further facilitating the cultural communication between the East and the West.

References：

[1]Waley， A. （1954 ）.27 Poems by Han Shan. Encounter， 3，30-60.

[2]Snyder， G.（1965）. Riprap & cold mountain poems . San Francisco： Grey Fox Press.

[3]Snyder， G. （1965）. Cold Mountain Poems. Evergreen Review， 6， 68-80.

[4]钟玲 （2006）.《史耐德和中国文化》.北京：首都师范大学出版社.endprint