Application of Specification in the Translation of Three Hundred Tang Poems——Cases Study of the Xu Yuanchong’s Version and Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-Hu’s

Abstract

Three Hundred Tang Poems is a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom that has become a world treasure through skillful translation. In rendering these poems for international readers, the translator must not only accurately convey their artistic conception and bridge emotional nuances, but also reconstruct their cultural connotations. To achieve such a translation effect, the proper application of specification—a strategy of representing the original ideas or concept in a more concrete or explicit way—becomes quite necessary. This paper, taking the English translation of Three Hundred Tang Poems made by Xu Yuanchong and Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-Hu as examples, makes a comparative analysis of their application of specification in poetry translation, focusing on three dimensions: context, emotion and culture. It tends to reveal the use of different degrees and types of specification on the effect of translation, with a view to offer some insights for the translation of Chinese poems.