摘 要

意象是融入了主观情意的客观物象，或者是借助客观物象表现出来的主观情意。在中国古诗词中，意象是诗歌的灵魂。这些意象通过语言的方式呈现出来，具有诗人赋予它们的感情，韵味或深意，承载了中华民族文化和思想情感，于是形成了中国古诗词中特有的文化意象。因此，在中国古诗词英译过程中，文化意象的翻译显得尤为重要。本文旨在探讨古诗词文化意象的翻译,在理解文化意象的基础上，通过对文化意象翻译的原则，影响因素的分析，探究得出，对于中国古诗词中文化意象的处理，不仅要求译者选用恰当的翻译策略，还要考虑到读者的历时性，做到与时俱进。

关键词：文化意象， 中国古诗词， 翻译, 处理方式

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………1 2. Demonstration…………………………………………………………………….2

2.1.Cultural Images in Chinese Classical Poems……………………………………2

2.1.1.Definition……………………………………………………………………...2

2.1.2.Function…………………………………………………………………….....3

2.1.3.Relation between Images and Ideorealm……………………………………...3

2.2.Translation of Cultural Images in Chinese Classical Poems…………………....4

2.2.1.Studies about Translation of Cultural Images...................................................5

2.2.2.Principles and Purpose of Image Translation…………………………………6

2.2.3.Factors affecting Image Translation………………………………………......7

2.2.4.Treatment of Image Translation…………………………………………….....8

2.2.4.1. Translation Strategies……………………………………………………….8

2.2.4.2 Other Treatments…………………………………………………………....10

3. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..10

Works Cited………………………………………………………………………....12

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...13

On Translation of Cultural Images in Classical Chinese Poems

1. Introduction

In ancient times, “yi”（意） and “xiang”（象） had different means in Chinese. The first time of the combination of “yi” and “xiang” is from the Book of Changes（周易注释，2003）. In Wang Chong’s Lun Heng（论衡，2004）, it said:"Images for express"（立象于意）. It means that "establishing lively and concrete images to express abstract meaning". Thus, “yi” and “xiang” were combined to one thing which is called “yixiang”（意象）, means “image” in English. The “yixiang” showed the dialectical unity of images and ideorealm. However, the first person who applied images for literal theory and endowed it aesthetic connotation was Liuxie. He said that “a discerning craftsman can wield an axe according to his image(窥意象而运斤)”. It means that images are formed based on author’s perception and grasp of the law of artistic expression（《文心雕龙》）. The “image” here is the result of “spiritual thinking”, which is the aesthetic image formed by the aesthetic subject after it has been processed through the understanding conception and imagination. This is the first time that the term "image" has been applied to the artistic creation and its significance is extraordinary. Liuxie’s Wen Xin Diao Long marks the true beginning of Chinese traditional image theory.

Influenced by the Chinese Classical Poems, from the 1920s, the Imagism emerged in the Western literary world, and poets represented by Pound advocated expressing their emotions through images. Pound defined the image as "that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time （Pound 1989）." Image can embody and visualize abstract things such as emotions and thoughts.

Chinese are ideographic and Chinese characters can condense senses and emotions into some words. Many poems use nouns and verbs to present images. Due to the differences in syntactic structure between Chinese and English, how to translate literary works, especially poems, becomes a problem. Meanwhile, how to translate images in Chinese classical poems has become an ongoing topic among translation circles. As an important element in Chinese classical poems, images are used by poets to express their inner thoughts and emotions. In the process of translating Chinese classical poems into English, whether the cultural images conveyed accurately is the criterion, or purpose, for judging the quality of translation. Therefore, the translation of cultural images seems particularly important in the process of translating Chinese classical poems.

1. Demonstration

2.1 Cultural Images in Chinese Classical Poems