Abstract

With the rapid development of international cultural exchange, Chinese culture has gained more and more attention all around the world, so does Chinese poetry. Therefore, the English translation of Chinese poetry is of crucial importance. However, currently, there are many problems involved in poetic translation due to various reasons. This thesis analyses Pound’s Cathay in the light of Rewriting Theory and hopes to give some enlightenment to the English translation of Chinese poetry. Firstly, the paper briefly introduces Pound and Cathay as well as the research of his Cathay. Then, it analyzes Rewriting Theory and its two main factors—ideology and poetics. Besides, the paper also illustrates the application of Rewriting Theory in Cathay from the aspects of both ideology and poetics. In the end, it draws a conclusion that Cathay is a rewriting determined by ideology and poetics in Pound’s era, and it is feasible to apply rewriting theory to the English translation of Chinese poetry.

Keywords:  rewriting theory  Cathay  ideology  poetics

摘要

随着国际文化交流的快速发展，中国文化越来越被世界所关注，中国的诗歌也不例外，中国诗歌的英译也就显得尤为重要。然而，种种原因导致当前的汉诗英译存在着诸多问题。本文利用改写理论来分析庞德的《华夏集》，指出该理论在中国诗歌英译中的可行性。首先，本文简单介绍了庞德、《华夏集》以及前人对该作品的研究，然后分析了改写理论和它的两大因素——意识形态和诗学。并从这两个因素着手，阐明了改写理论在《华夏集》中的应用，最后得出结论：《华夏集》是一部由庞德所处时代的意识形态和诗学所决定的改写作品，同时也证明将改写理论应用到汉诗英译中是可行的。

关键词：改写理论；《华夏集》；意识形态；诗学
 
1.1 Background and Significance of the Study
With the further development of the reform and opening up policy and the cultural exchange with other countries, Chinese culture has gained more and more attention. At the same time, Chinese poetry begins to be studied by scholars both at home and abroad. As we all know that poetry is the quintessence of Chinese culture, embodying the wisdom and emotion of ancient Chinese poets. Therefore, the translation of Chinese poetry is particularly important. However, there are many problems existing in the translation of Chinese poetry. On the one hand, the language of Chinese poetry is refined and imagery, which will lost its meaningfulness after translated into English. On the other hand, Chinese poetry embodies the unique Chinese culture, which is not easy to be understood by the target readers.