Abstract

Ezra Pound, one of the leading figures of British and American modern poetry, has made a great contribution in spreading Chinese culture and poetry to the western countries. Li Bai’s Changgan Xing is one of the most sensational poems among his many translations. Owing to the different cultures they lived in, there are many differences between his version and Li Bai’s original poem in poetic imagery, and the differences often result in the fact that readers are unable to appreciate the beauty of the original poem. This article probes the reasons of the differences from the perspective of cultural roots by comparing Ezra Pound’s translation with the original, and finds four elements that lead to the differences in poetic imagery between Ezra Pound’s version and the original. They are different cultural connotations between the Chinese word and its English equivalent, the unique allusions in Chinese culture, different understanding of Chinese cultural terms, and the unique writing features of Chinese poems. This thesis concludes that proper understanding of foreign cultures should be given first importance in the process of translating.

Key Words:  Ezra Pound   Changgan Xing  poetic imagery  cultural roots

摘要

艾兹拉·庞德作为英美现代派诗歌的奠基人之一，对中国文化和诗学在西方的传播做出过重大贡献。在他众多的翻译诗作中，《长干行》又是最引起轰动的一首。然而由于各自所处文化环境不同，他的译本与李白原诗之间又存在很多意境方面的差异，导致读者无法真正领略到原作的意境之美。该文通过比较庞德译本与李白《长干行》之间存在的意境差异，从文化根源角度探究导致这些差异的原因。这些根源可归结为四个方面，分别是汉字及其英文对等词的文化内涵迥异，中国文化中独有的典故，对中国文化术语的不同理解和汉语诗独特的写作特色。 本论文认为在翻译过程中译者应该非常重视对文化的正确理解。

关键词: 艾兹拉·庞德；《长干行》；意境；文化根源

Chapter One Introduction
Poetry is China’s national treasure, which is considered to be the most aesthetic literary style. “Literature is the essence of life: poetry is life distilled” (Xu Yuanchong，1996:122). Coleridge regards poetry as the best words in order and Shelly puts that it is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge. Changgan Xing , in this thesis, is one of the most famous classical poems by Li Bai.
1. 1 Brief Introduction of Li Bai’s Changgan Xing
Changgan Xing is an ancient classical poem which narrates a merchant’s wife’s love and miss of her departed husband written by Li Bai. The poem, describing a couple who are in deep love with each other but are separated because of reality, expresses their sincere love and yearning for happiness. In the title of this poem, “Changgan” refers to an ancient lane in Jinling, which is known to us as Nanjing now. Xing is a style of poem.