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Abstract Translation theories with Chinese characteristics refer to those that are based on discursive and theoretical resources in traditional Chinese philosophy, aesthetics, literary theories, painting theories, calligraphy theories, kongfu culture and so on. These resources are increasingly emphasized by translation scholars in China in the context of promoting the confidence of Chinese literati in Chinese theories and cultures. Relevant achievements like compositional translatology put forward by Pan Wenguo, harmonizing heterogenesis translatology put forward by Wu Zhijie, Yi-Translatology by Chen Dongcheng and so on are rather noteworthy by tapping into resources from traditional Chinese philosophy and literary theories.
Traditional Chinese painting theories are also well-developed and might shed some light on constructing translation theories with Chinese characteristics. Fu Lei’s “similarity in spirit” (shensi）, which originates from traditional Chinese painting theory, is a telling example. Xie He’s “six principles” of painting written about 1,500 years ago are also highly relevant to literary creation and translation, but up to now little attention has been paid to his painting theory by translation scholars. Thus, this paper tries to transplant Xie He’s “six principles” of painting into literary translation by endowing them with some different connotations, hoping to make a little contribution to the construction of translation theories with Chinese characteristics. The first principle “vitalizing force and charm” (qiyun shengdong) is commonly regarded as the ultimate aim of traditional painting, which places emphasis on the overall esthetic effect of painting. The other five principles like “reproduction and imitation” (chuanyi moxie), “lean brushwork” (gufa yongbi), “arrangement of position” (jingying weizhi) are specific ways to realize the ultimate aim.
When transplanted in literary translation, the first principle “vitalizing force and charm” means to ensure the translated work is an organic whole infused with literary force (wenqi) or with high literariness by the translator. The literary force of the translated work derives both from the original author and the translator, and consequently is a fusion of their creative efforts. “Reproduction and imitation”, regarded as the second principle, is almost completely compatible with literary translation which is always viewed as an art of reproduction. Apart from faithful reproduction, this principle also demands the translator’s creativity and adaptive skills. The third principle “lean brushwork” in literary translation metaphorically refers to the writing style (wenbi) of the translator as is shown in the translated work, which is always a fusion of the author and the translator’s style, whether the translator is conscious of it or not. The fourth principle “arrangement of position” concerns the reproduction or rearrangement of structure of the whole work, its paragraphs, its sentences, phrases and words, placing emphasis on the adherence to conventions of target poetics in order to satisfy the needs of target readers. The fifth principle “depicting shapes according to real things” (yingwu xiangxing) mainly involves the reproduction of the iconicity in the original work, like iconicity in sound, number, order and shape etc. The last principle “using different colors according to different things” (suilei fucai) metaphorically refers to the intentional enhancement of emotional atmosphere, rhetorical effects and the like in the original work. It should be noted that these “six principles” can be applied not only in literary translation practice but also in literary translation criticism. In both fields, the translator’s adaptive creativity, which is not necessarily in conflict with faithfulness, should be encouraged and recognized.
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Published: 08 October 2024
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