古诗英译是否应得“意”忘“形”——以《春晓》两个英译本为例

On Chinese classic poetry translation

中国的古诗英译总体来讲分为两大派,韵体派与散体派。韵体派代表许渊冲先生主张以诗体译诗,传递原诗的音美,意美,形美;而翁显良先生则是散体译诗的大手笔,主张抛却诗的韵律和形式的束缚,再现原诗的意象。本文以《春晓》的两个英译本为例,分析对比"诗体译诗"与"散体译诗"各自的得与失,提出由于翻译的目的不同,一诗可以多译,不必拘泥于"形意"之争。

There are two main schools in the field of translating Chinese classic poetry into English. Xu Yuanchong is no doubt the representative of the school of rhyming, advocating that a poetic translation should be as beautiful as the original in meaning, sound and form. Weng Xianliang, on the other hand, advocates casting away the restraints by rhymes and form in poetry translation and concentrating on the conveying of images. This paper will take ＂Chun Xiao＂ as an example, a famous poem in Tang Dynasty, and the two translating versions from Xu Yuanchong and Weng Xianliang, to have a comparison between their theories and intend to propose that an original poem may have many acceptable versions due to the different translation goals.