...The Interaction between Imagery and Allusions in translating Chinese PoetryBased on Tu Fu’s Poems Shih-ying Liaw Prof. Wang Linguistics and Translation June 18 2012 Shih ying Liaw1 Shih-ying Liaw Prof. Wang Linguistics and Translation June 18 2012 The Interaction between Imagery and Allusions in translating Chinese PoetryBased on Tu Fu’s Poems Though Chinese poetry has been translating for almost a hundred years, there are still many questions about the translation strategies and situations worth discussing. In this paper, the interaction between imagery and allusions when translating are discussed and the practical situation used when translating are presented. To discuss the interaction between imagery and allusions, the first thing is to identify and define each term. First is imagery. Imagery is thought to be the most important factor to the poetry. I use Ezra Pound’s word as definition because he is not only a pioneering translator in Chinese poetry and also a great poet. He says that “an image' is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.” Further explanation is given by Professor Liu in “The Art of Chinese Poetry” by putting imagery into two categories. The first is “simple imagery,” which is defined as “a verbal expression that evokes a mental picture, which not merely picture in words but also arouses emotional associations and enriches the poetic context”. The Shih ying Liaw2 second category...
Words: 3401 - Pages: 14
...Comparative Essay Classical Chinese and Ancient Egyptian cultures reveal the complexities of love through their works of literature, which involves the feminine chastity in a romantic plot. Throughout history, women set the role model for the appropriate engagement in premarital sexual behavior with men. In the Classical Chinese poem, “Zhongzi, Please,” we uncover a conservative female character who is afraid of society's criticisms if she is seen with a male figure. On the other hand, in the Ancient Egyptian poem, "The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart," we encounter a rebellious female character who embarks on a mission to persuade her lover to indulge in a sexual relationship. Both poems in Ancient Egypt and Classical China share similarities because the character’s response to love reflects their cultural beliefs. Confucius’ teachings about respect and obedience are reinforced several times in the Classical Chinese poem, “Zhongzi, Please,” through a female character’s reaction to her lover. The respectful manner to say “please” is used several times by the female to kindly ask her lover to pull back on his amorous advances. Also, we can infer the female’s usage of the word “please” as a strategy to attract her lover. The word “please” (1, 9, 17) conflicts with Confucius’ ideals of a women to restrain from romantic exposure, but his teachings are again reinforced with the repetition of line breaks of sentence for example, “Zhongzi, please / don’t cross my...
Words: 867 - Pages: 4
...history. Five thousand years of growth has turned Chinese culture into a broad and profound museum that concludes countless poets, plays and other spiritual inheritance. Chinese born and Chinese bred, I’m deeply immersed in my hometown’s cultural background and that I’m proud of all the literature works that my ancestors have left for us. When I was a little kid, I was required to recite those real famous poems so that I could have a better understanding of how ancient people expressed their love, hatred, sorrow, and happiness. When Chinese characters were combined in different ways, beautiful sentences would turn up and I enjoyed all the tricks in them. Also manners of writing had everything to do with the poets’ integrity and righteousness. When I was reading great works that were blaming traitors who sold out our motherland, I was shocked and ignited by the fire of fury. Usually an integrated poet could do nothing except writing passages or poets to let off just because fatuous emperors would always listen to ideas of sycophants, which eventually led the country to disaster. However, works from these sycophants were not preserved or passed down to today for the simple reason that Chinese culture would not tolerate these evil winds blow. For over a thousand years, more and more people began to pay attention to these fabulous spiritual works. With great ancestors being idols for younger generations, ancient Chinese poems had developed valuable ethos and I could find...
Words: 849 - Pages: 4
...Structure of Chinese poetry The structure of Chinese poetry is very complicated. It is hard to learn but so beautiful to read. Chinese poetry includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese. Some kind of Chinese language is so rare and old that I have not even learnt. And Chinese poetry has a long history which started from Western Zhou till now. So Chinese poetry can provides an exceptional platform for both public and private expressions of deep emotion, offering a rare vantage point for students and observers to view the inner life of Chinese writers across more than two millennia. Chinese poetry was divided to two primary types, which were Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry. Classical Chinese poetry is traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese which typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres. Classical Chinese poetry was divided to a lot of kind of poetries, which include Classic of Poetry, Chuci, Yuefu, Six dynasties poetry, Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan poetry. The poems of Classic of Poetry tend to have certain typical patterns in both rhyme and rhythm, to make much use of imagery, often derived from nature. The poems of the Chuci anthology are mostly of the seven-syllable form, and are formed in a unique way. Lines generally consist of three syllables. Yuefu are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. Six dynasties...
Words: 446 - Pages: 2
...Richard Rokosz CHIN 3801 March 11, 2016 Midterm 1. There are some perennial subjects in Chinese or Japanese poetry, for instance, love, nature, celebration of life, etc. Discuss one subject: How have different poets in different historical periods approached the subject? For instance, how is love depicted by different poets? Chinese poetry has since the beginning featured the subjects of love, nature and celebration of life as recurring topics. Almost every poem we’ve analyzed and discussed in class has included references to one or more of these subjects. Nature is the perennial subject that has resonated with me most, as it has encompassed the majority of metaphors and comparisons in the poetry we’ve read. Chinese and Japanese poetry metaphorically incorporate animals and the seasons. The animals will often represent humans. Their actions also symbolize different human actions. In no other cultural tradition has nature played a more important role artistically than in that of China. Since China’s earliest dynasty, real and imagined creatures of the earth (serpents, cicadas, and dragons) were gifted with special powers. In the Chinese imagination, mountains were also infused with sacred power since ancient times. They attracted the rain clouds that watered the farmer’s crops. They concealed herbs used for medicines, magical fruits, and minerals that held the promise of longevity. Mountains with caves and grottos were viewed as gateways...
Words: 1798 - Pages: 8
...introverted personality. According to the next stanza, she became more comfortable with the marriage by age fifteen and "stopped scowling." A year later, her husband (a merchant) departed for another village, which is where he has been for the past five months. The monkeys' sorrowful noise mirrors her loneliness. She writes that her husband "dragged [his] feet" when he left - indicating that he did not want to leave her. She ends her letter by writing that if he comes back along the river, he should send word ahead, and she will come out to meet him. The poem is signed "by Rihaku." Analysis: Pound was not the creator of this poem; he translated it from the original Chinese version by Li Po. The Chinese original likely had a specific form and identifiable meter, but Pound did not know enough about Chinese poetry to preserve it in his translation. Pound wrote his translation in free verse, structured around the chronological life events of the river-merchant and his wife. This form, though perhaps not Li Po's intent, does actually align with the content of this poem. The free verse makes the letter feel more authentic, as if it is a real letter from a wife to...
Words: 3595 - Pages: 15
...Name: Hanxue Zhu Program Topic: Nonwest Collections of Expressions It’s a collection of different cultural expressions. Students from different countries and nations present poetry, music, and dance. The most impressive item to me is the Korean fashion dance. Several girls were dancing with the Korean pop music. And the atmosphere was glowing. Other items were also amazing, too. This event reminds me the academic course I took last semester, which is anthropology. The course is about different customs about the world. The custom about a group of people is about the culture, marriage, and life-style, which can be expressed by poetry, music and articles. One of items I watched was the dance from Latino students, which I never saw before. And I was expressed a lot by the original culture. There was no background music only the claps the dancers made. It brought you to the nature. Secondly, I gained a lot of new information from this event. As an exchange student here, I am not very familiar with the local nature here. I’m from China and our ancient poems are so different. So when a student read her poem from her culture in front of us, I was surprised. The form and the content of the poem are so different from Chinese poems. It sounds really different. I was experiencing another world I never knew about. In a world, that collection of expressions of different nations brought me a lot of new experiences and I was impressed a...
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
...Read the People: Understanding the Period of Antiquity through Literature The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumarian text, along with two ancient Chinese poems: To be A Woman, written by Fu Xuan and Substance, Shadow, and Spirit written by T’ao Ch’ien, are all pieces of literature from the period of antiquity (the time prior to the Middle Ages). Reading each of them not simply for pleasure, but rather for the message injected into all parts of these works, allows a reader to learn a great many things other than the plot of the story they have written. The Epic of Gilgamesh takes us through the life of the King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, as he quests for the meaning of living life and for the comfort needed to accept his mortality. To Be a Woman presents to the reader the perspective of a young woman about the way that her society relates to women with an attitude even less than one of indifference. T’ao Ch’ien, author of “Substance, Shadow, and Spirit,” introduces us to the reality of the commoners of another society during that period who were without the power to control their circumstances. All of these pieces of literature delve into the painful realities of life and the embracing of death; however, they are from the perspectives of those who occupy very different stations in life, and thus have very different problems and experiences which gives the reader vastly different understandings of life during this period of time. The attributes of the characters in The Epic of...
Words: 1496 - Pages: 6
...signifies something extremely important; although your heart may be smaller than the earth, it can actually love a person more than the earth ever can. Therefor, the heart is actually larger than the earth. With Shu Ting’s use of imagery in her poem “Assembly line, ” TIng appeals to the sense of numbness to even existing, she also appeals to the sensuality of hopelessness. She appeals to these by describing how bleak life is, and how much the line of people are like the trees; “Choked on smog, and monotony.” Ting talks about how the stars, the trees, and the people are in lines, just like the products coming off the assembly line. This poem was written after the Cultural Revolution had happened in China. After the Cultural Revolution, Chinese society was bleak and, filled with factories spouting black smog. With use of imagery, TIng describes this in her poem “Assembly line.” The image that Bei Dao presents in the last line of “Testament” is surprising; he compares the starry night as a sky with bullet holes. Bei Dao also compares the red sky of dawn, to be like blood. The night sky with bullet holes could signify, or represent, the speaker’s death. The rising dawn could represent the speaker lying dead, blood staining the ground. A little bit too much for my opinion. The theme of Ben Dao’s “Testament” is one of leaving this planet, and going up to heaven. These comparisons between the dark sky and the red dawn help represent this theme. Although Ben Dao uses a dark and...
Words: 493 - Pages: 2
...I have to start by saying the interpretation by the interpreters is amazing. How they can depict what the writers (drawers) (pictograghers) were intending to say in such detail is really genius. I say this because if I drew a picture there is no way I would be able to tell the same story or tell you what I meant when I was over and done, let alone you tell me. The artistry that the (pictograghers) possessed is also amazing and genius. The brilliance they possessed, yet at the same time the stupidity they possessed is something indescribable by me. I say the stupidity they possessed because in those days the punishments passed and the reasoning for determining guilt was/is insulting to the brilliance of mankind. I don't really have a favorite poem, but if I had to choose one, it would be "I wish I were a Nubian girl." I say that because of the way he described his desires and the mistress. He was intuned to how the Nubian girl and the mistress interacted. However, if he were the Nubian girl I dont believe he would be as enthusiastic because then he would be a girl and the scene itself would feel inappropriate. If he were to ask the Nubian girl how she felt about being that, she may have a difference of opinion. Having to bathe the mistress, having to cater to the mistress, having to feed the mistress, having to clothe the mistress without having the choice of doing so may not be as pleasant as it seems. And if she did enjoy it would that mean she was a man in a...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...Sentence patterns for basic Chinese conversations: zhe4 | this | na4 | that | mei3 | each/every | na3 | which? | yi1 | one | liang3 | a couple | shi2 | ten | Can I (enter, buy)? | wǒ néng bù néng (jìn qu, mǎi) | Can you (help me, sell)? | nǐ néng bù néng (bāngmáng, mài)? | Do you have (an airplane ticket)? | <nǐ> yǒu (zhāng jīpiào) ma? | How much does (this; measure word) cost? | (zhèi {ge, tiáo, běn} ) yào duōshao qián? | I am (Indian) | wǒ shì (Yìndù rén) | I am not( American, Native American) * | wǒ bú shì (Měiguórén, Yìndì'ānrén ) | I have ( passport, 2 pieces of luggage) | wǒ yǒu (hùzhào, liǎng jiàn xíngli) | I do not have (Chinese visa, two photos) | wǒ méi yǒu (qiānzhèng, liǎng zhāng zhàopiàn) | I lost my (passport, money purse, id papers) | wǒde (hùzhào,qiánbāo, shēnfèn zhèngmíng) diū le. | I need (to see a doctor, go to the airport) | wǒ yào (kànbìng, qù jīchǎng) | I do not need (to go to the airport, a taxi) | wǒ bú yào (qù jīchǎng, chūzū qìchē) | I would like to/ think I want to (go to hotel, go to hospital) | wǒ xiǎng (qù jiǔdiàn/lǚguǎn,qù yīyuàn) | I would not like to (rest, eat food) | Wǒ bùxiǎng (xiūxí /chīfàn) * | I will stay in (Beijing) for (four days, a week) | Wǒ yào zài (Běijīng) dāi (sī tiān, Yīgè xīngqí) | Is there a (restaurant, market) closeby? | fùjìn yǒu (fànguǎn,chāoshì) ma? | Please give me ( a receipt, room keys) | qǐng gěi wǒ (fāpiào, fángjiān yàoshi) | Please help me (register, call my...
Words: 521 - Pages: 3
...Poetry and Form Literature is a kind of art by means of language. To express itself, art needs to rely on a specific form. From the targeted acceptors’ point of view, the form of all kinds of art can be divided into two main aspects, namely the visual form and the audio form. Some types of art such as painting, architecture, sculpture rely themselves on the visual form which can be observed or touched; others such as music rely on audio form which cannot be observed or touched but heard. Literature as a language art, therefore, also relies on these two forms. Poetry is an important literary genre with the longest history among other literary genres. It includes a variety of subgenre at different levels, which are usually classified into three major types: narrative, dramatic and lyric. Narrative poetry is concerned with a particular event or a series of related events, such as epic Milton’s Paradise Lost. Dramatic poetry is for performance, such as Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night. Lyric poetry is to express strong emotions, such as ode, elegy, sonnet, idyll, pastoral and ballad. Based on the function or the purpose of the poetry, the form of the poetry may vary in different poems. The form of the poetry Poetry as a language art relies on both visual form and audio form. As Lu Xun once said, the beauty of Chinese articles exists in the form and the sound (中国文章之美，乃为形声二者。). As for literary works, Liu Xie believed that a good writing must rely on a beautiful form. And as...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...Poetry (from the Greek poiesis — ποίησις — with a broad meaning of a "making", seen also in such terms as "hemopoiesis"; more narrowly, the making of poetry) is a form of literary art which uses aesthetic and rhythmic[1][2][3] qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Early poems evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell oral epics, as with the Sanskrit Vedas, Zoroastrian Gathas, and the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form and rhyme, and emphasized the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from more objectively-informative, prosaic forms of writing. From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more generally regarded as a fundamental creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly...
Words: 384 - Pages: 2
...Poetry (from the Greek "poiesis" — "ποίησις" — with a broad meaning of a "making", seen also in such terms as "hemopoiesis"; more narrowly, the making of poetry) is a form of literary art which uses the aesthetic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. POETRY Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Early poems evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell oral epics, as with the Sanskrit Vedas, Zoroastrian Gathas, and the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form and rhyme, and emphasized the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from more objectively-informative, prosaic forms of writing. From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more generally regarded as a fundamental creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor, simile and metonymy[1] create a resonance...
Words: 374 - Pages: 2
...Students Name Instructor’s Name Course Date The theme of love in Li Qingzhao's poetry Li Qingzhao is one of the best-known poets in China and the entire Asian community who wrote several poems in the 12th century. She was born in 1084 in J’nan, Shandong province to an aristocratic and scholarly family that was dedicated to educating their daughters. Her father was a professor at the Imperial Academy and also a prose writer whereas her mother was a writer of poetry. Qingzhao acquired extensive knowledge of literature and classics in her teenage as she also remained devoted and focused on her academics. Literary work was part of her life; even as a young girl she wrote delightful little lyrics on her outings to the near beauty spots. She stood up in a literary world that was dominated by men in an unusual way at that particular period as Chinese women were actively discouraged from any form of writing. She pressed on and her determination of creating her space in the male literary tradition never died (Ring). At eighteen, she got married to Zhao Mingcheng-a student at the Imperial Academy- in the year 1101 and lived in Shandong; he later died in 1129. Fortunately, they both had a mutual interest in art collection and epigraphy, and they collected many books as a result. They enjoyed touring the city and the neighborhoods and many other places in quest of favorite antiques and the ancient books that helped in refining of her poetic style. Zhao was mostly absent after he started...
Words: 1906 - Pages: 8
