The Appreciation of Two Translated Versions of The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers from The Perspective of Eco-tanslatology

【Abstract】There are 81 poems in The Dream of the Red Chamber， which are closely related to the fates of the characters. Therefore， whether the poems in this novel can be well-translated or not is a key step in terms of transmitting and showing the book’s essence to the world. From the perspective of eco-translatology， this paper compares two translated versions and focuses on the comparison and appreciation of one of the representative poems- The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers （《葬花吟》）.

【Key words】The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers; eco-translatology; language; culture; communication

【作者簡介】刘雁琴（1989.11-），女，汉族，甘肃人，四川工商学院，助教，硕士研究生，研究方向：英语翻译与教学，英语文化。

Zhou Ruchang once said “The Dream of the Red Chamber is ‘a novel full of poems’”， in which there are altogether 81 poems. And these poems reflected the artistic characteristics of The Dream of the Red Chamber. The poem The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers reflected Lin Daiyu’s personality and also predicted her miserable fate. “Burying the flowers” is actually burying herself， her youth and her life. The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers has many translated versions. From the perspective of eco-translatology， this paper analyzes the two most famous versions translated by Yang Xianyi， Dai Naidie and David Hawkes. Mainly focusing on the language， culture and communication， it presents the adaptability and characteristics of different translated versions.

1. The Introduction to Eco-translatology

Eco-translatology is a relatively new translational theory， which was first proposed by Professor Hu Gengshen in Tsinghua University in 2001. He said， “The appearance of eco-translatology conforms to the development tendency of society and academic research”. This paper selects the translational methods addressed by him， namely the language aspect， culture aspect and the communication aspect to compare and analyze the two translated versions.

2. Comparison of Two Translated Versions

2.1 The adaptability and selection of language aspect

The adaptability and selection of language aspect mainly discuss translational issues on language level. The following four sentences depicts the scene when Lin Daiyu， with a rake in her hand， went out of the door. Each sentence has seven words and the first， second， and fourth has the rhyme of “-u”， which makes it well-organized and enjoys a strict form of rhyme. The four sentences are simple， elegant， implicit and fined.

闺中女儿惜春暮，愁绪满怀无释处。

手把花锄出绣帘，忍踏落花来复去。

The two versions：

A girl in her chamber mourns the passing of spring，

No relief from anxiety her poor heart knows;

Hoe in hand she steps through her portal，

Loath to treat on the blossom as she comes and goes，

——Translated by Yang

The Maid， grieved by these signs of spring’s decease，

Seeking some means her sorrow to express，

Has rake in hand into the garden gone，

Before the fallen flowers are trampled on.

——Translated by Hawkes

Compared this two versions， it can be easily found that the rhyme of Yang’s version is at the second and the fourth sentences. However， it is not easy to read it fluently by readers since it lacks rhyme in the first and the third sentences. In Hawkes’ version， he rhymes in the first and the second sentences and in the third and the fourth sentences by using “decrease” and “express”， “gone” and “on” respectively. To be more specific， Hawkes applies heroic couplet（aabb）， and he insists on this form throughout the whole poem， making the translated version more readable.

2.2 The adaptability and selection of culture aspect

The translation of a poem should not only transmit the beauty of language， but also the cultural information so as to achieve the goal of cross culture communication. And in The Song of Burying the Fallen Flowers，literary quotation can fully present Chinese culture.

杜鵑无语正黄昏，荷锄归去掩重门。

青灯照壁人初睡，冷雨敲窗被未温。

The two versions：

Dusk falls and the cuckoo is silent;

Her hoe brought back， the lodge is locked and still;

A green lamp lights the wall as sleep enfolds her，

Cold rain pelts the casement and her quilt is chill.

——Translated by Yang

At twilight ，when the cuckoo sings no more，

The Maiden with her rake goes in at door

And lays her down between the lamplit walls，

While a chill rain against the window falls.

——Translated by Hawkes

In the two translated versions， both Yang and Hawkes translates “杜鹃” as the single form “cuckoo” in order to implicate the loneliness of Lin Daiyu. In addition， concerning the translation of “无语”， Yang’s version is “is silent” while Hawkes’ version is “sings no more”. The verb “sings” not only has the meaning of singing a song， but also embodies the twittering of a bird. From this perspective， the phrase “sings no more” can reflect the vivid scene of silence after the bird’s singing.

2.3 The adaptability and selection of communication aspect

Eco-translatology indicates that “Besides the transformation of linguistic information and cultural connotation， the translator should focus on the level of communication and pay attention to whether the communicative intention of the original text can be reflected in the translation”. To decide whether the communicative purpose has been achieved， the communicative function of original text should be fully understood. The first communicative purpose of Burying Flowers is to suggest the decline of Jia Mansion（贾府） through Lin Daiyu’s burying flowers. And the second purpose is to express Lin Daiyu’s worry about her own miserable future and situation of no one to rely on. The examples are as follows：

尔今死去侬收葬，未卜侬身何日丧？

侬今葬花人笑痴，他年葬侬知是谁？

Now you are dead I come to bury you;

None has divined the day when I shall die;

Men laugh at my folly in burying fallen flowers，

But who will bury me when dead I lie？

——Translated by Yang

Can I， that these flowers` obsequies attend，

Divine how soon or late my life will end？

Let others laugh flower-burial to see：

Another year who will be burying me？

——Translated by Hawkes

Clearly， the four sentences are translated in a simpler way by Yang. However， this is from the perspective of a Chinese reader. For foreign readers whose native language is English， they will value and appreciate more when read a more complex version with fully maintaining the beauty of the poem. The life of a work， a poem lies in how long it can survive among the readers and whether it can be accepted readily by the readers.

3. Conclusion

When judge the superiority or inferiority of a translated version， we no longer merely consider whether the version is “closer to readers” or “closer to writers”， we measure it in the aspects of language， culture and communication. The three aspects are of equal importance， and the translator cannot ignore any of them. Compared the two translated versions， Hawkes’ version is better as far as eco-translatology is concerned. Nevertheless， the efforts  and contributions that Yang’s couple made when translate The Dream of the Red Chamber cannot be denied. Translation is itself a long and difficult process， and because of “The way ahead is long”， it is a must “I see no ending， yet high and low I’ll search with my will unbending”.

References：

[1]蔡義江.蔡义江点评《红楼梦》[M].北京：团结出版社，2004.