Page 108 - Translation Journal July 2015
P. 108
Metaphors and Metonymies in Classical Chinese Poetry and their English Translations
By: YU, Suling
Abstract: Metaphors and metonymies are especially employed in poetry because poems are intended to communicate complex
images and feelings to the readers and metaphors and metonymies often state the comparisons and associations most emotively. This
paper examines the English translations of classical Chinese poetry by important British and American translators in the late nineteenth
century and early twentieth century and discovers that the translators have made the eight types of alterations in their translated works:
using a metaphor in the target language that has a similar meaning to replace the one in the source poem, misinterpret the metaphoric
meaning of a vehicle, translate the vehicle of a metaphor into a real thing in the poem, or adding a metaphor in the translation that is
absent in the original, leave out the vehicle in the original poem but keep the tenor, etc. These alterations have reduced the integrity
and effect of the poems, though the translators have contributed greatly to introducing the themes and forms of Chinese poetry to the
outside world.
Keywords: metaphor; tenor; vehicle; image
Introduction
Metaphors and metonymies are used in all types of literature as well as in everyday life, but not often to the degree they are used
in poetry because poems are intended to communicate complex images and feelings to the readers and metaphors and metonymies
often state the comparisons and associations most emotively. The use of metaphors and metonymies has a long history in classical
Chinese poetry. Poets of classical Chinese poetry usually use plants, birds, beasts, fish, insects, farm animals, the sun, the moon,
stars, and household stuff like fans, curtains, candles, patterns on quilts, etc as vehicles for tenors and images for conveying the
message of the poem. In addition，the natural phenomenon or the behavior of birds or animals has something in common with the
event being discussed, or is related to the emotion of the poet or the subject-matter.
The functions of metaphors in Chinese poetry and in Western poetry are the same, though the vehicles and tenors in them may be
different thanks to the different climates, natural environments, lifestyles and cultures of the peoples. A nation has its collective images;
an age has its collective images; a poet has his or her unique group of images; and a poem has its group of images. The images of a
poem usually center on a setting or a scene. All the images in a poem work together to build up a mood and to convey a message. An
alien image in the translated work may violate the agreement and unity of the work.
This paper examines the English translations of classical Chinese poetry by important British and American translators in the late
nineteenth century and early twentieth century and discovers that the translators have occasionally or quite often made the following
108 | Translation Journal - July 2015
By: YU, Suling
Abstract: Metaphors and metonymies are especially employed in poetry because poems are intended to communicate complex
images and feelings to the readers and metaphors and metonymies often state the comparisons and associations most emotively. This
paper examines the English translations of classical Chinese poetry by important British and American translators in the late nineteenth
century and early twentieth century and discovers that the translators have made the eight types of alterations in their translated works:
using a metaphor in the target language that has a similar meaning to replace the one in the source poem, misinterpret the metaphoric
meaning of a vehicle, translate the vehicle of a metaphor into a real thing in the poem, or adding a metaphor in the translation that is
absent in the original, leave out the vehicle in the original poem but keep the tenor, etc. These alterations have reduced the integrity
and effect of the poems, though the translators have contributed greatly to introducing the themes and forms of Chinese poetry to the
outside world.
Keywords: metaphor; tenor; vehicle; image
Introduction
Metaphors and metonymies are used in all types of literature as well as in everyday life, but not often to the degree they are used
in poetry because poems are intended to communicate complex images and feelings to the readers and metaphors and metonymies
often state the comparisons and associations most emotively. The use of metaphors and metonymies has a long history in classical
Chinese poetry. Poets of classical Chinese poetry usually use plants, birds, beasts, fish, insects, farm animals, the sun, the moon,
stars, and household stuff like fans, curtains, candles, patterns on quilts, etc as vehicles for tenors and images for conveying the
message of the poem. In addition，the natural phenomenon or the behavior of birds or animals has something in common with the
event being discussed, or is related to the emotion of the poet or the subject-matter.
The functions of metaphors in Chinese poetry and in Western poetry are the same, though the vehicles and tenors in them may be
different thanks to the different climates, natural environments, lifestyles and cultures of the peoples. A nation has its collective images;
an age has its collective images; a poet has his or her unique group of images; and a poem has its group of images. The images of a
poem usually center on a setting or a scene. All the images in a poem work together to build up a mood and to convey a message. An
alien image in the translated work may violate the agreement and unity of the work.
This paper examines the English translations of classical Chinese poetry by important British and American translators in the late
nineteenth century and early twentieth century and discovers that the translators have occasionally or quite often made the following
108 | Translation Journal - July 2015
