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Arts Of The Contact Zone

1
Lost in Translation or Gained in Creation:
Classical Chinese Poetry Re-Created as English Poetry1
Roslyn Joy Ricci
Centre for Asian Studies
University of Adelaide
Introduction
The well-known Robert Frost2 witticism that ‘poetry is what disappears in translation'
is only valid if poetic translation aims to produce a ‘perfect re-creation of the original,'3
however, I suggest that successful translators re-create poetry in another language as opposed
to translating it into a second language.4 The aim of re-creating poetry is to attempt to produce
the same reader-response as the original poem did. This generic formula holds true in the
specific case of Chinese poetry re-created as English poetry. I use the term ‘re-created' for
poetic translation because literal translation of poetry struggles to produce the same reader
response as the original poem does.
1 ‘This paper was presented at the 15th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of
Australia in Canberra 29th June-2 July 2004. It has been peer-reviewed and appears on the Conference
Proceedings website by permission of the author who retains copyright. The paper will be
downloaded for fair use under the Copyright Act (1954), its later amendments and other relevant
legislation.'
2 American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963).
3 James JY Liu, The Poetry of Li Shang-yin, 1969, p. 34.
4 Yan Fu (1853-1921) set the standard for translation from a modern Chinese perspective: primarily
‘xìn' (faithfulness), then d• (fluency) and finally y• elegant). Elegance must give way to fluency and
fluency to faithfulness.
2
This paper explores the challenges to, and strengths of, classical Chinese poetry recreated
as English poetry as a transcultural poetry integral to a world poetic critique as
proposed by Stephen Owen. It examines issues of contextualisation, critical theories, notions
of ‘Otherness' and the possibility of ‘world poetry' along with Owen's reply to my reading of
his thesis....