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Abstract:Poets often allude to well known allusions to get a sharp point to their view. The great differences in languages and cultures between China and the Britain pose tremendous difficulty to translate those allusions. Translators have to manage to reconcile between the original culture and the readers’ expectation and acceptance.
key words： translation biblical allusions classic Greek allusions
Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the most distinguished English romantic poets. One of his representative poetries is Ode to the West Wind. The poem is a combination of death and rebirth. Shelley appeals to the west wind to effect this regeneration.1 Some Biblical allusions and Greek classics are alluded to in this poetry.
Some world-famous translators, for example, Wang Zuoliang （王佐良）and Shi Yingzhou（施颖洲）have tried to translate Ode to the West Wind. Some of their translations of the allusions share some similarities, however, some are totally quite different from each other. No matter which strategy they adopt, foreignization or domestication, translators take the responsibility to make original text not only available but also acceptable for the target readers. In a sense, they have to manage to reconcile between the original culture and the readers’ expectation and acceptance.
Biblical Allusions
It is said that almost every western literary work has the tint of Christianity and Bible. Even without direct quotation, the work is permeated with Christian perception. Shelley’s wife and friends provide clear and convincing evidence that the Bible is among the books which Shelley has read most frequently, either for appreciation or for critical study. Even in his family library, there are different versions of Bible at hand.
From the perspective of Christianity and Bible, “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”2 symbolizes the blood of the lamb, and “thorns” and “A heavy weight” refers to the image of Jesus Christ before his death, with thorns on his head and the heavy Cross on his back. The ending, “If Winter comes, can spring be far behind”, indicates the rebirth and regeneration.
The fact that the Chinese and English language do not share the same religious culture poses tremendous difficult to translate those allusions. Such culture-loaded lines as “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed…”are translated as “我跌倒在人生的刺树上，我血流遍体！岁月沉重如铁链，压着的灵魂…”3by Wang Zuoliang and “我跌落在人生荆棘上，我痛苦！岁月的负担已经束缚及贬损…”4by Shi Yingzhou.
When confronted with the above Biblical allusions, both of the two translators do not reproduce the allusion into Chinese, nor do they replace them with traditional Chinese allusions, which the target readers are more acquainted with. The translators manage to preserve the integrity and feature of the source poem within target readers’ acceptability. Thus, they successfully bridge the gap between Christianity-dominant culture and Chinese culture.
Classic Greek Allusions
As the cradle of western civilization, Greek civilization lays the foundation for western culture including political system, philosophical thinking, and literary style. It is no wonder that conspicuous traces of Greek allusion can be found in Ode to the West Wind.
Shelley alludes to classic Greek allusions in Ode to the West Wind to get a sharper edge to his point. For example, Shelley invokes Zephyrus, the west wind, to free his “dead thought”. (3)Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring, which conforms to the image of the wind in the poem—both Destroyer and Preserver. Both Wang Zuoliang and Shi Yingzhou translate the “the west wind” literally to “西风”，with no mention to Zephyrus and Greek mythology. From the angle of allusion translation, there is no need to further explain the relationship between west wind and Zephyrus to avoid misinterpretation or to enhance readers’ acceptance, for literally, “西风” is almost equivalent to “the west wind”.
Several factors seem to converge to indicate that translators are the artists of compromise between two cultures. It is undeniable that translators, too, are constrained by the times and era in which they live, the literary and cultural traditions they manage to reconcile and the features of the language they work with. Some knowledge of the tradition and culture of the source language is significant for the readers to promote comprehension.
References：
[1]罗经国主编：《新编英国文学选读（下卷）》.北京：北京大学出版社，1996.5
[2]赵军涛：《雪莱与圣经的关系研究》.中国优秀硕士学位论文全文数据库
[3]施颖洲:《世界诗选》.辽宁教育出版社出版,1999.4
[4]王佐良:《英国诗文选译集》,外国文学出版社，1980
[5]（比）Andre Lefevere：Translating Literature-Practice and Theory in a Comparative Literature Context,北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2006.8
key words： translation biblical allusions classic Greek allusions
Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the most distinguished English romantic poets. One of his representative poetries is Ode to the West Wind. The poem is a combination of death and rebirth. Shelley appeals to the west wind to effect this regeneration.1 Some Biblical allusions and Greek classics are alluded to in this poetry.
Some world-famous translators, for example, Wang Zuoliang （王佐良）and Shi Yingzhou（施颖洲）have tried to translate Ode to the West Wind. Some of their translations of the allusions share some similarities, however, some are totally quite different from each other. No matter which strategy they adopt, foreignization or domestication, translators take the responsibility to make original text not only available but also acceptable for the target readers. In a sense, they have to manage to reconcile between the original culture and the readers’ expectation and acceptance.
Biblical Allusions
It is said that almost every western literary work has the tint of Christianity and Bible. Even without direct quotation, the work is permeated with Christian perception. Shelley’s wife and friends provide clear and convincing evidence that the Bible is among the books which Shelley has read most frequently, either for appreciation or for critical study. Even in his family library, there are different versions of Bible at hand.
From the perspective of Christianity and Bible, “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”2 symbolizes the blood of the lamb, and “thorns” and “A heavy weight” refers to the image of Jesus Christ before his death, with thorns on his head and the heavy Cross on his back. The ending, “If Winter comes, can spring be far behind”, indicates the rebirth and regeneration.
The fact that the Chinese and English language do not share the same religious culture poses tremendous difficult to translate those allusions. Such culture-loaded lines as “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed…”are translated as “我跌倒在人生的刺树上，我血流遍体！岁月沉重如铁链，压着的灵魂…”3by Wang Zuoliang and “我跌落在人生荆棘上，我痛苦！岁月的负担已经束缚及贬损…”4by Shi Yingzhou.
When confronted with the above Biblical allusions, both of the two translators do not reproduce the allusion into Chinese, nor do they replace them with traditional Chinese allusions, which the target readers are more acquainted with. The translators manage to preserve the integrity and feature of the source poem within target readers’ acceptability. Thus, they successfully bridge the gap between Christianity-dominant culture and Chinese culture.
Classic Greek Allusions
As the cradle of western civilization, Greek civilization lays the foundation for western culture including political system, philosophical thinking, and literary style. It is no wonder that conspicuous traces of Greek allusion can be found in Ode to the West Wind.
Shelley alludes to classic Greek allusions in Ode to the West Wind to get a sharper edge to his point. For example, Shelley invokes Zephyrus, the west wind, to free his “dead thought”. (3)Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring, which conforms to the image of the wind in the poem—both Destroyer and Preserver. Both Wang Zuoliang and Shi Yingzhou translate the “the west wind” literally to “西风”，with no mention to Zephyrus and Greek mythology. From the angle of allusion translation, there is no need to further explain the relationship between west wind and Zephyrus to avoid misinterpretation or to enhance readers’ acceptance, for literally, “西风” is almost equivalent to “the west wind”.
Several factors seem to converge to indicate that translators are the artists of compromise between two cultures. It is undeniable that translators, too, are constrained by the times and era in which they live, the literary and cultural traditions they manage to reconcile and the features of the language they work with. Some knowledge of the tradition and culture of the source language is significant for the readers to promote comprehension.
References：
[1]罗经国主编：《新编英国文学选读（下卷）》.北京：北京大学出版社，1996.5
[2]赵军涛：《雪莱与圣经的关系研究》.中国优秀硕士学位论文全文数据库
[3]施颖洲:《世界诗选》.辽宁教育出版社出版,1999.4
[4]王佐良:《英国诗文选译集》,外国文学出版社，1980
[5]（比）Andre Lefevere：Translating Literature-Practice and Theory in a Comparative Literature Context,北京：外语教学与研究出版社，2006.8