從《雨霖鈴》的譯文談漢詩英譯的意境傳達

從《雨霖鈴》的譯文談漢詩英譯的意境傳達

[Abstract]Chinesepoemtranslationisadifficulttask.ThesuccessoftranslationofChinesepoemsdependsonwhetheritcanapproximatelytransmitartisticconceptionofChinesepoemsandleadthereadersintoaspaceofimagination.Itisdifficulttotranslatetheoriginalmeaning,theatmosphereandthecharmcompletely.TheEnglishversionsofmanyoutstandingChineseclassicalpoemswhicharegentlybeautiful,vigorousanddeepusuallycannotpresenttheoriginaltasteandflavorofthepoetry.Thisthesisfirstpointsoutthatartisticconceptionisakindofidealartisticstate,whichcanleadreadersintothesituationandemotionofapoem.ItisimpossibletoexpresscompletelytheprimarytasteandartisticconceptionofChinesepoetrytoeveryreader.Thereasonisthatthedifferenthistoricalcultureconnotationsanddifferenthabitsandcustomsaswellasdifferentthinkingmethodsareformedinwordsandexpressions.ThisthesisthentakestheversionofBellsRingingintheRainforexampletoanalyzethedifficultyoftheconveyanceofthepoembriefly.Inthepointoftheauthor’view,artisticconceptioncanbeeffectivelytransmittedtoreadersbythefollowingthreemeans:first,toexpressamorousfeelingsandideas;second,tounearthimages;finally,tostimulateimagination.Theauthornarratesthreewaysthroughthecomparisonofthetwoversionsof“bellsringingintherain”andotherexamplesforfurtherexplanation.Attheend,theauthorpointsoutthattheyareonlythreeeffectivewaysbutnottheabsolutemeans.

[KeyWords]Chinesepoetry;artisticconception;BellsRingingintheRain;solution

【摘要】漢詩英譯是否成功就在于能否成功的傳達意境。要成功的傳達意境是不容易的，許多好的漢語詩歌翻譯成英語后總是會失去原作的藝術魅力、本文首先指出：意境是通過形象化的情景交融的藝術描寫，能夠把讀者引入到一個想象的空間的藝術境界，意境傳達的困難在于中西方存在著諸多差異，不同的歷史文化，風俗習慣和思維定勢都使?jié)h語詩歌的意境傳達成為一個難題，本文以《雨霖鈴》的譯文為例，分析了這首詩歌意境傳達的困難，接著通過《雨霖鈴》的兩種譯文對比提出了意境傳達的三種有效方式：傳情達意，挖掘意象，激發(fā)聯(lián)想。最后作者提出，這只是三種有效的方式，而不是絕對的方式。

【關鍵詞】漢詩英譯；意境；《雨霖鈴》；方式

1.Introduction

"Poetryisasuperartoflanguage.”[1]Awell-knownstatementismadebyRobertFrost“Poetryiswhatgetslostintranslation”.PoetrytranslationisadifficulttaskanditisespeciallytrueintheChinesepoetrytranslation.“Indeed,poetrytranslationisacreativetask.”BurtonRaffelsays,“Thetranslatedpoemshouldfirstbeanewpoem,agoodone,andshouldbethefavoroflife,insteadoflifelessacademicaccuracy.”TheEnglishversionsofmanyoutstandingChineseclassicalpoemswhicharegentlybeautiful,vigorousanddeepusuallycannotpresenttheoriginaltasteandflavorofthepoetry.Manyfamoussayingsandbeautifullines,whichenjoygreatpopularityduringhundredsofyears,maketheChinesereadershaveadeepsympatheticchord.Butforeignreaderscannotunderstandthemactually,ortheymayevenfeelbewilderedandthemostimportantreasonisthatthetranslationofChinesepoetryislackoftheconveyanceofartisticconception.ThesuccessoftranslationofChinesepoemsdependsonwhetheritcanapproximatelytransmitartisticconceptionofChinesepoemsandleadthereadersintoaspaceofimagination.China’spoetaswellasliteraryandtheoreticiansmostlythinkthatthegreatestachievementofpoetrycreationliesinartisticconception.Itisthesoulofpoetry.Thenwhatonearthisartisticconceptionofpoetry?

Thedefinitionofartisticconception

Artisticconceptionisakindofidealartisticstate,whichcanleadreadersintothesituationandemotionofapoem.Theblendofsituationandemotionisthebasiccomponentofartisticconception,whichisinvolvedintwoaspects,oneistheobjectiveofimagesinlife,theotheristheidealsubjectivecreationofthepoet,wecalltheformeroneas“jing”,andthelateroneas“yi”.Therefore,artisticconceptionistheunifiedentityofthetwoaspects.

ArtisticconceptionisoneofthemostimportantaestheticconceptionsinancientChina,whichcanbetracedbacktoTangDynasty.InhisTheStyleofPoetrypoetWangChanglinfirstlyputforwardartisticconceptiontogetherwith“物境”“情境”(twoofthreelevelslikeartisticconceptionusedtodescriberespectivelytheobjectandthecircumstancesofapoem).Althoughheproposedthethreelevelstogether,hedidn’tpointouttherelationship.Jiaoran,apoetandamonkaswell,oncepointedouttherelationsbetweenYi(image)andJing(situation).Hethoughtthatthefeelingsofareadertoapoemstartfromitssituation.LiuYuxiwhocarriedonJiaoran’stheoryadvancedthatwecansayinTangDynasty,theAestheticSchool---theleadingschoolofpoetrywhichanalyzespoemwithartisticconception,wasformed.AndinQingDynasty,WangGuoweigaveadeeperresearchontheconnotationandcreationofartisticconception.Ashesaysinhis“CommentsonciPoetry”,“Notonlycanliteraturemotivatethewriterhimself,butalsoitcantouchtheheartsofothers.”MaoDunthenthoughttheconnotationoftheliteraturetranslationisthetransmissionoftheidealcondition.Hesaid"theliteraturetranslationistotransmittheartisticidealconditionoftheoriginalworkinanotherlanguageandmakereaderbeinspiredequally,affectedandgetthebeautifulfeelingwhentheyreadtheoriginalwork.[10]

Thedifficultiesoftheconveyanceofartisticconception

Formanyyears,lotsofChinesescholarsaswellasforeignresearchersputtheirefforttodothearduousworktotranslateclassicalChinesepoemsintoEnglish.Andamongtheirworks,thereisnolackofexcellenttranslation.Asamatteroffact,justthroughthewonderfultranslationofsomeexcellenttranslator,alotoffamousclassicalChinesepoemshavewontheirworldreputation.However,asakindofartisticappreciation,weusuallyhavealittlepitythatthetranslationofChinesepoetrystillcannotexpressartisticconceptionwhenwereadastheChinesereaders,lotsofChineseclassicalpoemshavelosttheiroriginalromanticcharm,completeinformation,three-dimensionaleffect,andthestatethatcanleadthereadersintoaindefiniteimagination.ItisnotsurprisedtoseethatmanyscholarsconsiderthetranslationofChineseancientstyledpoetrytobeanunsuccessfulfieldsofar.Wecanseethatevenifsometranslationsdisplaythecontentofpoetry,theyfailtotransmit,interpretthemood,theimage,andthesituationofpoetry.BecauseofthehugedivergencebetweentheEastandtheWest,itisimpossibletoexpresscompletelytheprimarytasteandartisticconceptionofChinesepoetrytoeveryreader.

Thereasonisthatthedifferenthistoricalcultureconnotationsanddifferenthabitsandcustomsaswellasdifferentthinkingmethodsareformedintheaspectofwordsandexpressions.

TherenownedtranslatorMr.YangXianyihassaid:"Therearemanyotherfactorsconstitutingcertainmeaningsinoriginaltext.Itissimplynotimpossibletotransmitthesemeaningsforthepersonsunderdifferentcultures.[11]Forexample:theChinesereadershavesomeassociationspontaneouslywithweepingwillowinaChinesepoetry,itisimpossibletocausethiskindofassociationnaturallyifitistranslatedintoanotherlanguage.Inmanypoemstheterminology(poemlanguage)oftenhastheirculturalhistoricalbackgroundcausingthereadertoassociatesufficiently.[12]Thereisnofinaltranslationforanytranslationispartialsinceitishardlypossibleforanytranslatortoseekbalancebetweenvariousrequirement.[13]Ofcourseitcontainstheconveyanceofartisticconception.

2.TheanalysisofBellsRingingintheRain

Here,theauthorwillprobehowtotransmitartisticconceptioninthetranslationofChinesepoetrybytheEnglishversionofBellsRingingInTheRain.

ThecommentofBellsRingingInTheRain

LiuYong’poemsaregoodatdescriptionofdetails,andwritteninapithystyle.Thispoemexpressesthepartingfeelingsanddescribesthesceneofpartingandthepainfulmood.Theemotionisalsoverysentimental.ThispoemisofLiuYong’srepresentativeworks.Thefirststanzadescribesthepartingscene,theauthordescribesthecicadachillily,andtwoloveswerepartingintheroadsideshelter.Theboatwasurging.Theywerereluctanttopart,handinhandwithtearfuleyes,sobbingwithoutaword.Themistywavesinthegreatdistanceandthedistantskyalsoappearedsoheavy.Inthesecondstanza,theauthorsighedwoefully:partingletsthehumanbesadsincetheoldtimes.Thelongertheypart,thesaddertheyfeel.Evenifthereisbrightdaysandbeautifulscenery,thepoetstillcannotcheerup.

“Thecicada”,“theroadsideshelter”,“thesuddendownpour”,“thenationalcapital”“theboat”,“themistywave”and“thesouthernsky”-----theseimagescomposedthedeparturepictureofgloomycolor,brimwiththethickdeepsorrow.TheChinesereadercanfeeltheauthor‘ssadmoodaftertheyreadandproducethesympatheticchord,butasaresultoftheculturalenvironmentandthebackgrounddifference,foreignreadersmaynothavesimilarfeeling,norcantheyinducetothisdignifiedatmosphere.theChinesereadercouldcarryontheverynaturalassociationtoabovetheseimages,formaseriesofpicturesinthebrains,buttheforeignreaderpossiblycannotbeabletounderstandthiscompletely.Inthesecondstanza,whatistherelationbetween“多情”and“自古”?Howtotranslate“曉風殘月”?whatis“良辰好景虛設”onearth?Itisverydifficulttodescribethepainfulmoodandthedeepsorrowfaithfullytotheforeigners.

ThedifficultiesoftheconveyanceofartisticconceptionofBellsRingingintheRain

Itisnotcompletelypossibletotranslatetheoriginalpoem,themoodandtheatmosphere，whichisalsoanextremelybigdifficultproblem,suchas:

Firstly,Itisdifficulttoconveytheemotioninthepoem:theemotionhereisnotpresentedexplicitlybutimpliedinthedescriptionoftheimages.Itishardtoconveytheconnotationandassociationsignificanceofimagestotheforeigners.Inaddition,theChinesepoemsusuallyconsistofseveralimages,thepoetcandisplaysomepicturesinfrontofthereadersthroughthedepictionoftheimages.InBellsRingingintheRain,“thepavilion”“eveningclouds”“willowtrees”“waningmoon”---theseimagesconstituteasceneofsorrowdepartureindrearyAutumn.Itisnoteasytoselectproperwordstoconveytheimagesaswellassuitablewordstoconnectthemintheprocessoftranslation.Finally,InBellsRingingintheRain,Chinesereaderscanassociatethewavingwillowtreesandwaningmoontothereluctanceofdeparture.ItishardtobringthesimilarfantasytoreadersinEnglishversion,becausesomeimagecannotarousethesameassociationtotheforeigners.Thereisalsoonepointthatweshouldnotice:theconveyanceofartisticconceptionisacommonproblem,sometimeseveniftheversionembodiesthecharmoftheoriginalpoem,theforeignersmaynotunderstanditcompletelybecauseoftheculturaldifferences.JustastheforeignerscannotunderstandtheloveofLiangShanboandZhuYingtai,Here,theauthoronlywouldliketodiscussthewaystoconveyartisticconception.

3.Threestrategiestoconveyartisticconception

Tobeexact,ZhaoZecheng’sartisticconceptionincludesthreeaspects:Qing(emotion),Jing(situation),andimagination.Tocounterthesethreeaspects,artisticconceptioncanbeeffectivelytransmittedtoreadersbythefollowingthreemeans:first,toexpressamorousfeelingsandideas;second,tounearthimages;finally,tostimulateimagination.[14]

Expressfeelingsandideas

WhendoingthetranslationofChinesepoems,weshouldfirstlymakeclearthemainideaoftheoriginalpoem,thesituationsetinthepoemandideasandfeelingsthattheauthorwantstoexpress,otherwise,wedonottranslatebutcreatepoetry.

InancientChina,therearethesayingslike“idealcanbeconveyedbypoetry,and‘poetryisstemmedfromemotions.”[15]WangGuowei,anaestheteinmoderntimes,indicatesthat‘onlywhenapoetisabletoreflectthereallifeandexpresshisrealfeelingsbyhispoemhashereachedahigherlevelofpoetrycreation.’[16]Inhisopinion,thesimplenaturalscenery,suchasbirds’singing,flowingwater,flowers’blossomanddriftingcloudscannotconsistof‘Artisticconception’bytheirpoems.ThefamousliterarytheoreticianinQingDynasty,YeXiethoughtthatemotionfromthebottomofheartisoneoftheindispensableconditionsinthecreationofartisticconception,andwhetherartisticconceptioncanbeconveyedsuccessfullybythetranslationsornotdependsonwhetherthetranslatorisabletotransmitthefeelingsbetweenthelines,andunderstandpoet’mind.[17]AsEveingsaysinhis‘TranslationandSentiment’,translatorshouldnotonlytranslatethe‘tears’,the‘laughter’,the‘a(chǎn)nger’,thereadinesstogivelifeonthebattlefieldandthevisiblethings,butalsothegrief,thehappiness,theindignation,theutterdevotionandtheinvisiblesentiment.[18]Forinstance,hereisseveralversesofBellsRingingInTheRain.AistranslatedbyRewiAlley,andBistranslatedbyXuYuanchong.

“都門帳飲無緒”

AWedrinktoeachother

BCanwecarefordrinkingbeforewepart

“飲”“無緒”thetwowordsaddanxietytotheparting,peopleusuallywoulddrinkwinewhenpartinginancienttime.Thepoetwassosadthathewouldnotliketodrinkatall.‘Drinktoeachother’inAlley’stranslationsdoesnotshowthiskindofmood.XuYuanchongtranslatesthewordsinto‘Canwecarefordrinkingbeforewepart’reflectakindofdisconsolateness，So,XuYuangchong’stranslationisbetter.Ifthepoemembodiesthepoet’emotion,theversionshouldindicateit.Letuslookatanotherverse:

執(zhí)手相看淚眼，竟無語凝噎

Aweclasphands,faceswet

withtears;unabletosayanything

BHandinhandwegazeateachother’stearfuleyes

Andburstintosobswithwordscongealedonourlip

Totranslatetheemotioninthesetwoverses，wemustgraspthepsychologicalconditionofthepoet.Lookingateachother‘stearfuleyeswithhandconnecting,theywouldliketosaysomething,yetspeechlessforsobbingfinally.“執(zhí)手”“相看”“淚眼”“無語凝噎”areasuccessionofwordsdescribingthehero’ssorrowandthegrief,XuYuanchonguses‘gazeat’and‘tearfuleyes’todescribethemood,andtransmittheemotion,‘burstinto’indicatestheeruptionofhispreservedsentiment,‘congealed’vividlymanifestthesadness.Obviously,inversionA‘wetwithtears’greatlyweakenstheemotionandcannottransmitartisticconceptionoftheoriginalpoem.Obviously,itisinadequatetoonlydisplaythecontent,wealsoshouldexpressthefeelingsbetweenthelinesproperly.Forexample:

多情自古傷離別，更那堪、冷落清秋節(jié)

Thatistosay,peoplealwaysfeelsadwhenpartingsincetheancienttimes.Howdoesalonelypersonliveinthischillyautumn?Herethepoetisdisplayingakindofdisconsolatemood.

Aeverhavepeoplehated

leavingtherefriends,andnow

thecoldautumnwithitssadness

ontopofitall;

BLoverswouldgrieveatpartingasofold.

Howcouldyoustandthisclearautumndaysocold

Comparedwith‘hated’,‘grieve’inBindicatesthatthepoetfeelsbrokenhearted,therhetoricalquestioncorrespondstheoriginalpoemexpressingthepsychologyofsadfeelinginthelonelyautumn,whichconformedtotheartisticconceptionoftheoriginalpoem.Obviously,Bismoresuccessfulintransmittingartisticconception.

Adoesnotdisplaytheemotion,thereforeitfailsinthetransmissionofartisticconception,but,XuYuanchongfullycomprehendsthepoet’semotionofBellsRingingInTheRain,andcarriesonthepoet’ssorrowbychoosingthewords.Finallyhesucceedsinthetransmissionofartisticconception.Transmissionofartisticconceptioniscloselylinkedwiththeemotiontransmission.Sowecanmakeconclusionfromtheexamplesabove,thetransferenceofartisticconceptionisincomplete,ifthereisemotioninanoriginalpoem,butthetranslationfailstomanifestthefeelingsintheverses,.Inordertofurthertheunderstandingtheimportanceofemotionexpressionintranslation,theauthorwouldliketogivemoreexamples:“曉鏡但愁云鬢改，夜吟應覺月光寒。”byLiShangyin）Thepoemdescribestheimmortallove:hecannothelpthinkingofhisbelovedforhisdeeplovetohersothathedoesnotseehisimagebutthatofhisbelovedwhilelookingintothemirror.Thetwolinesselectedinthepoemdescribethefeeling:thepoetworriesabouthisbeloved’sgrayhaironheadbutnothisownwhenheislookingintothemirror,hedoesnotfeelthechillofmoonlight,butheworriesthatshewillfeelcoldwhenheiscrooningverseatnight.ThefollowingaretwokindsoftranslationsofInnesHerdan(A)andXuYuanchong(B)

AGriefatthemorningmirror---

Cloud–like-hairmustchange;

Verseshummedatnight,

Feelingthechillofmoonlight…

BAtdawnI’mgrievedtothinkyourmirroredhairturnsgrey;

AtnightyouwouldfeelcoldwhileIcroonbymoonlight.

Adescribesthepoet’sworriesabouthisowngrayhair,andhefeelschill,whichistheliteraltranslationwithoutunderstandingthefeelingofthepoettohisbeloved.Soitfailstotransmitthatkindofsentimentinthepoemandrevealtheimmorallove.Xuyuanchongaddspersontodescribetheimmorallove,thusthereadersaremovedbythepoet’sfeelings,andgetthedeepcomprehensionofartisticconception.

Hereisanotherexample:“思君如滿月，夜夜減清輝?！?SinceMyLordFromMyPartedbyZhangJiuling)Thepoetusesthemoontodescribethefeelingsofthewifethatsheisdullerdaybydaybymissingherhusband.LetusseethetranslationbyHerbertA.Giles:

Myheartislikethefullmoon,fullofpains,

Savethat’tisalwaysfullandneverwanes.

“Gilescomparesthewife’shearttothepainfulmoonthatneverwane,succeedsinconveyingtheessentialideaofhersorrow.”[19]Inthispoem,thekeypointoftheunderstandingofartisticconceptionistocomprehendthewife’semotion.SinceGilesconveythedistressofthewife’smissingvividlyandincisively,thereaderscanfeelthiskindofpains,thereforeGilessucceedsintheconveyanceofartisticconception.

Theanalysisabovesuggeststhatthetransmissionofemotionisimportanttothetransferenceofartisticconception.Ifthepoemembodiespoet’semotion,thetranslatedversionshouldindicateit,thusthereaderscangetadeepcomprehensionofartisticconception.

Unearthimage.

Besidestheconveyanceofemotionsandideas,atranslatorshouldalsopayattentiontotheimages.Theimagereferstotheobjectinthepoetry,whichreceivesubjectivesentimentoftheauthor.Settingsun,fragrantgrass,weepingwillow,songofthebirds,cicadachirpingandsoonarethecommonlyemployedimagesinancientChinesepoems.Usually,apoetdoesnotrevealthesentimentstraightlybutawakenourmemorybythedescriptionoftheimageandstimulateourfeelingandcauseoursympatheticchord.[20]Preciselytheauthorrevealsubjectivesentimentbytakinganddescribingtheimage,thereadercanentertheartisticconceptionofpoetry.

Theimageistheessenceoflanguageofpoem.“Imagemodelcapturestheessenceofpictureinproseorinpoetry.”[21]Thepoetsalwaysutilizesthevisualizedlanguagewhichcanstimulatethereader’simaginationandtheassociationtodescribetheimageintheliteraryworks,iftheliteraryfigureisfresh,thentheexquisiteartisticconceptionwillappear.Thetranslatorshouldpayattentiontothetransplantationoftheliteraryfigureandvisualizationofthelanguageintheprocessoftranslation.Thereforetheycanfullymanifestthebeautyofartisticconception.Weshouldtransmittheimagestotranslatethepoem.Imageisthebasicelementofpoems.Thebasicfeatureisthatreaderscanexperiencethefeelingsofpoetsthroughthedescriptionoftheimage.“Wemeantodefineimageastheattributeforthewholementalconceptionofaliterarywork.Insomesense,‘image’hereiscountableaseyeablelinguisticpoint,andalltheimagesinaworkformintoameaningfulwhole,whichisoftencalleditsimagery.So‘imagery’isuncountableasaninseparableentitythatcanonlybeperceivedfromtheentirework”.[22]

Thereareseveralimagesinthispoetryasfollows:cicadas,showers,heavycloud,southernsky,willowtrees,waningmoon.“Theseobjectstobedescribedareneverselectedatrandom,butarethemanifestationofthepoet’sshrewdpowerofobservationanduniqueartisticview”[23]Theseimagesareobjects,butthepoetrendershisemotiontothemthathasbeenthesymbolofdepartureanddistress.Hesetoffthepartingatmospherebythedescriptionofobjects,thusthereaderswillportrayachillanddrearypictureasiftheyhearthesingingofthecicadasandseethepartingscene.Thenhowdothetranslationsgivethereadersthesameexpressionbyunearthingimages?Itisrareforustofeelcoldanddrearywhenhearingthesingingofcicadas,whilethepoetuse"寒"and"凄"todescribeit,forthepainfromthebottomofhisheart."寒"and"凄"uncoverdirectlythepoet’smood,thepersonhavetopartwithhisbelovedandfeelsthecoldnessoftheoutsideworld,whichishisinnermostfeelings.ThefollowingtranslationsarealsopresentedbyRewiAlley(A)andXuYuanchong(B):

ANowcomesthenoteofthecicada，mournfully;

BCicadaschill

Drearilyshrill

ComparedwithRewiAlley’s‘mournfully’XuYuanchong’s‘Cicadaschill’describesthecicada‘scondition,"drearilyshrill"corresponds"凄切"theyestablishedabasicmainkeyfortheentirepoem----cloudyandcold,"drearilyshrill"furtherexaggeratedthisatmosphere.So,“chill”“drearily”describetheprocessofpsychologyandtransmit‘a(chǎn)rtisticconception’of“寒蟬凄切”.Pavilionisconsideredasasymbolofparting,suddenshowermaybeconsideredasasymbolofthetearsfallingfromtheireyes.Lookattheverses:

對長亭晚，驟雨初歇

Aatourpaceforparting

eveningfalls;therainstormthatbroke

hasclearedaway;

BWestandfacetofaceataneveninghour

Beforethepavilion,afterasuddenshower

WecanseeRewiAlleyomitstheimageofpavilion,whichisveryimportanttotheconveyanceofartisticconceptionasasymbolofancientChina,peopleusuallypartinpavilion,soChinesereaderscanassociatethepavilionwithdeparture.AndXuYuanchongreservestheimageofpavilionandshowerusing“before”and“after”toconnectthetwosentences,sothatweseethenaturalsceneryandhumanfeelingswellblendedinthebeginningofthepoem.[24]So,Itdoeswellatthetransitionoftheartisticconception.Inthispoem,theimageoftheboatwaitingforthepersondescribesapictureofalonelysail.Theverse:

方留戀處、蘭舟催發(fā)

Atheboatmanurgesdeparture

Bwearelingeringlate,buttheboatiswaitingforyoutodepart

RewiAlleyonlyuses“boatman”omittingtheimageofboat,andXuYuanchong’stranslationdescribesapicture:twopeopleareloathingtopart,theboatisurgingapersontoembarkquickly,wecanguessthattheboathasbeenwaitingforalongtime.Thepictureofalonelysailisthesymbolofthepartinglover,carryingthevisualfeeling.AndBisbetteratthetransitionofartisticconceptioncomparedtoRewiAlleythatisonlynarrating.Inthispoem,cloudandskyalsoaresymbolical,theheavycloudisthesymbolofhisheavyheart,andtheboundlessskyisthesymboloflongdistance.[25]Theoriginalversesandtranslationsareasfollows:

念去去千里煙波，暮靄沉沉楚天闊。

AandIknowthatsoonIshallbefar

fromhere,overthehills;

atnightamistwillcome

downfromheavens,andsoon

IwillbeinHupeh,where

skiesarehigh,andgroundlow;

BYou‘llgoyourwayfar,faraway,onmilesandmilesofmistywaves

wheresailtheships,andeveningcloudshanglowinboundlesssouthern

skies

Thetwoimages“暮靄”and“楚天”shouldbetranslated.RewiAlleydoesnottransmittheimage:cloud,and“skiesarehigh”doesnotdescribetheboundlessoftheskies.Thereforehistranslationweakenedtheeffectofthetransitionofartisticconceptionoforiginalpoemgreatly.Intheoriginalpoemthefirststanzabeginswithanimageandendswithanother,bothrevealthegriefofparting.[26]Thereforeintranslationthereshouldbethetransferenceofthevividimagetoletthereaderfeelthepoet‘semotionthroughtheimagestounderstandtheartisticconceptionofthepoem.

Asweknow,InaChinesepoem,therearealwaysmanyimages;thesevividimagesbringthebeautytopeople.Inordertoachievethesimilareffect,thetranslatorshouldcarryontheappropriatedescriptiontotheimages.Forexample,“小樓西角斷虹明，欄桿私倚處，遙見月華生”portrayabeautifulscene：thebrokenrainbowappearsafteraheavyrain，twopersonsareleaningonrailswatchingtherisingmoon.TeresaYee-whaYutranslatesthelinesinthisway：

Acrossthewesterncornerofthe

Smallhouse,abrokenrainbowhangs

brightly,asIrestonthebalcony,

awaitingmoonrise.

Theimageoftheoriginalpoemisbrokenrainbow，whyistherainbowbroken？TeresaYee-whaYuonlyuses‘brokenrainbow’，whichfailstomanifesttheestheticsenseofthemoonraisesslowly,thereforethebeautyisinferiorthantheoneoftheoriginalpoem.ThetranslationbyXuYuanchongis:

Animperfectrainbowisseen,

ShutoutofviewbyWesternTower.

Weleanonrailsalone

Towatchtherisingmoon.

XuYuanchonguses‘shutoutofviewbywesterntower’，givingpeopleamorevividpicture:Abovethesmallbuilding,abrokenrainbowappears,--twopeoplearecloselyleaningintherail,watchingtheslowingrisingmoon,thephraseshutoutdescribesthebrokenrainbow,thetypicalimagematchestheimageverb,hasexaggeratedtheoriginalpoemmainkeyoftheoriginalpoem,so,comparedtoTeresaYee-wha’sYu.XuYuanchong’sisbetterintransmittingartisticconception.

Theanalysisabovesuggeststhatunearthingimagesisoneofeffectivewaystoconveyartisticconception,ofcourse,inthetranslationtechniquesofimage,apartingfromunearthingimages,thereareotherwaystoconveytheartisticconception,suchasfootnotingandparaphrasing,whichthisarticleonlydiscussesoneofeffectiveways.

Stimulateimagination

Intheauthor’sview,theconnotationofstimulatingimaginationisthatifthepoetleavesagreatspaceofimaginationtothereaders,soshouldthetranslator.Itisofgreatimportanceforthetranslationstostimulatethereaders’imagination.JustasXuYuanchongpointsoutinhisNewConceptofTranslationinNewCenturythelowstandardofliterarytranslationistoresembleorreflectthetruthoftheoriginalpoems,whilethehighstandardistokeepthebeautyofpoemsinsourcelanguage[27]Thetranslatorshouldtryhisbesttobring