The Translation Theory of “Three Beauties”

康碩

【Abstract】Professor Xu Yuanchongs theory of three aspects of beauties provides us with a theoretical guide to the translation of classical poetry.This thesis takes a poem written by Li Shangyin named Written on a Rainy Night to My Wife in the North for instance，exploring the application and effect of the three aspects of beauties.

【Key words】English Translation of poetry； translation theory of Three Beauties

The translation theory of Three Beauties was propounded by Xu Yuanchong who drew lessons from author Lu Xuns From Word to Composition.A celebrated dictum originated from this masterpiece called “Beauty in sense to move the heart，this is the first point； Beauty in sound to touch the ear，this is the second point； Beauty in form to move the eye，this is the third point.” （Cong，2005：47） It refers to that the translated text could draw on the rules and forms of classical poetic composition，and the parallel words and phrases should be well structured，and the length of a translated version should be similar to the original poem.Compared with beauty in sense and sound，beauty in form is less crucial but its significance could not be doubted（Xu，2003：34）.

Written on a Rainy Night to My Wife in the North is a lyrical poem created by Li Shangyin as a letter in reply in Sichuan Province，written to express his yearnings toward his wife in Changan.Among many translation versions of this poem，two of them are typical and used for reference as follows：

1.Witter Bynners translation version：

Note on a Rainy Night to a Friend in the North

You ask me when I am coming，I do not Know.

I dream of your mountains and autumn pools brimming all night with the rain.

Oh，when shall we be trimming wicks again，together in your western window？

When shall I be bearing your voice again，all night in the rain？

2.Xu Yuanchongs translation version：

Written on a Rainy Night to My Wife in the North

You ask me when I can come back，but I dont Know；

The pools in western hills with autumn rain oerflow.

When by our window can we trim the wicks again

And talk about this endless，dreary night of rain？

Xus translation version obviously conveys the yearnings of poet and the artistic conception of original text could be discovered by many images like rain，overflow，pools and night.These elements are representatives of the theme，which expresses an incessant and concentrated emotion rushing out of poets mind.The most impressive word in this verse is “overflow”，the packed pools in autumn which represents the poets incessant yearnings could not hold the miserable emotion in his heart，then slowly flows out of the pools，just as the poets feeling rushing out of his heart.Written on a Rainy Night to My Wife in the North is the seven words quatrains，which lays amazing importance on rising and falling in cadence，distinct in rhythm and verse due to the application to level and oblique tones and the emphasis on the rhymes.The demonstration of rhymes mainly reflects on the rhyming word that ends a line of the first two verses as “ow”，and the last two verses rhyme in “ain”.

Even though the beauty in sound is not as profound as beauty in sense，the impact of it can never be ignored.Translators should lay emphasis on the rhymes of the original poem，which will bring a different and impressive feeling to the readers.This part reflects the beauty when readers are deeply addicted into the poems and reading the poem loudly and clearly，then they will feel the crafty design by the translator who explores to discover the underlying meaning of original poem.According to their reading process，readers will be impressed by the beautiful scene which the poem demonstrates by virtue of the beauty in sound，and this method brings benefits to the advancement of English translation of poem.

Reference：

[1]Kramsch C.Language and culture[M].Oxford University Press， 1998.

[2]Nida E A.Toward a science of translating： with special reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating[M].Brill Archive， 1964.

[3]Susan Bassnett， Andre Lefevere.Constructing cultures： Essays on literary translation[M].Multilingual Matters， 1998.

[4]劉宓慶.當代翻譯理論[M].中國對外翻譯出版公司， 2005.

[5]叢滋杭.中國古典詩歌英譯理論研究[M].國防工業出版社， 2007.

[6]許淵沖.唐宋詞一百五十首：中英對照[M].北京大學出版社， 1990.