Journal of Chuxiong Normal University ›› 2020, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (5): 102-118.

• Foreign Languages and Literatures • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Translation of Farewell Poems: Soil Erosion and Cultural Reconstruction- Reading Bassnett’s “Transplanting the Seed: Poetry and Translation”

YANG Wanbin   

  1. Journal Editorial Office, Chuxiong Normal University, Chuxiong, Yunnan Province 675000
  • Received:2020-08-20 Online:2020-09-20 Published:2020-12-23

Abstract: Farewell poem is an important genre of classical Chinese poetry of unique cultural and aesthetic appeal and its translation into English is of great value. After a cross-cultural study of farewell poems in the light of both the English and Chinese language-culture systems, the author first argues that farewell poems have become an endangered species due to soil erosion - lack of “an enabling target language” and a receiving social cultural context. Then he proceeds to analyze this intercultural phenomenon from a number of perspectives before finally suggesting cultural reconstruction as a solution. The author contends that farewell poems have been culturalized in history but have now been deculturalized due to advances of human civilization, so they require reculturalization to be properly translated, so that they can have “a textual homeland” to grow and multiply.

Key words: translation, farewell poem, soil, seed transplant, reconstruction

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