Reconstruction of Ecological Value in Translating Traditional Chinese Poetry: A Case Study of Li Bai’s Poem

Li SUN, Wei LIU

Abstract


A good reconstruction of ecological value promotes the reception and transmission of translations of traditional Chinese poetry, especially when it is influenced by Taoism. From the perspective of ecological discourse analysis, this paper uses three analysis systems in systemic functional linguistics (SFL), including transitivity system, appraisal system and theme system, and explores the reconstruction of ecological value in the two selected English translations of Li Bai’s poem, Calling on a Taoist in Daitian Mountain Without Meeting Him. We compare translations by Xu Yuanchong and Charles Budd to explore the characteristics of each version, delineating implications for traditional Chinese poetry translation more generally. Three significant conclusions are summarized. Firstly, translators could reconstruct ecological value in the source text by personifying or animalizing the non-human participants of each clause. Secondly, if the appraisal resources in the source text are positive, corresponding appraisal resources should also be rendered properly rather than be omitted randomly. Thirdly, translators should use more non-human organisms and environment elements, instead of human elements, as the themes to weaken human-centeredness.


Keywords


Ecological discourse analysis; Ecological value; Traditional Chinese poetry; Li Bai

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/13240

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