Bian (19 10-2000), a native of Lishui, Jiangsu Province, was a famous translator and literary critic in modern times. She studied under Xu Zhimo and was one of the representatives of crescent poetry in the New Culture Movement. From 65438 to 0929, Bian graduated from Shanghai Pudong Middle School and was admitted to the English Department of Peking University for university education. In addition to his reputation in poetry, Bian has also made outstanding achievements in foreign languages, literature and translation. After the founding of New China, he was employed as a professor of Western Literature Department in Peking University, a member of the Foreign Literature Review Group of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Literature of China Academy of Social Sciences, a director of the Chinese Writers Association, and a vice president of the China Shakespeare Research Association. He has made outstanding contributions to the construction and practical development of China's translation theory, so he is also called "the translation doyen".
A, a top civilian student, full of interest in learning.
Bian was not born in a noble family, but his grandfather was an apprentice. In his early years, he moved from Lishui to Haimen to avoid chaos, where he opened a dyehouse for a living. Bian Jiayou, Bian's father, took part in the imperial examinations many times, and the business of the dyehouse in his family got worse year by year, which led to the decline of his family. The poor family environment did not affect Bian's desire for learning. He entered the new primary school at the age of eight and Shanghai Pudong Middle School at the age of seventeen. Two years later, he passed the English Department of Peking University with excellent results. From primary school to university, Bian's academic performance has always been among the best in his class, and he is a top student. After graduating from Peking University, Bian taught in Baoding Yude Middle School and Jinan Provincial Middle School. Just after the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he visited Yan 'an and was invited by a good friend to temporarily teach at Lu Xun Art College in Yan 'an for about one semester. From 65438 to 0940, Bian was employed as a lecturer, associate professor and professor in the Foreign Languages Department of National Southwest Associated University. After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, Bian became a professor in the Foreign Languages Department of Nankai University and a visiting researcher at Oxford University for 18 months. The establishment of New China made Bian more willing to contribute to the higher education of the motherland. He first worked as a professor in the Department of Western Languages in Peking University for three years, then transferred to Peking University Institute of Literature as a researcher, and finally entered the Institute of Foreign Literature of China Academy of Social Sciences as a researcher, engaged in research work until his retirement. Throughout Bian's study and career, foreign language and literature and literary translation have always been one of the most important parts of his life, and his life achievements and values have also been reflected here.
As early as studying in Shanghai Pudong Middle School, Bian became interested in English literature. 1926 By chance, he read The Tales of Shakespeare, which was his first contact with Shakespeare's works and gave him the initial idea of translating foreign literary works. Since then, I have been out of control and have been translating a large number of foreign literary masterpieces for most of my life. For example, there are four kinds of Shakespeare's tragedies, Violet Girl, Narrow Gate, Selected English Poems, etc. , which established Bian's unshakable and important position in China's translation field. What is particularly worth mentioning is that Bian's early translation closely combined his translation ability with poetry creation and translated a large number of poems. Poetry translation is also an important starting point for later generations to study Bian's translation thought and practice.
Second, poetry translation is difficult, and both spirit and form are prepared.
Most of Bian's poetry translations are included in Selected Poems of England. In the preface of this book, Bian not only summarizes the translation ideas formed over the years, but also analyzes some special translation choices. When studying how to translate English poems into Chinese, Bian stressed: "Translating English poems into Chinese should not only make the translation look like it was translated from English, but also make the translation have the same appreciation effect for China readers as foreign readers, and make the translation catchy for China readers." The reason why Bian has such high requirements for poetry translation lies in his rich experience in poetry translation, and these theoretical requirements in turn fully guide the process of Bian's translation practice. If we carefully read Bian's translated poems, it is not difficult to find that Bian's rigorous translation and accurate choice of words and sentences not only convey the meaning of the original text, but also vividly and faithfully reproduce the sound, meaning, form and spirit of the original text. For example, Thomas, a famous British lyric poet! Gray's masterpiece Mourning at the Grave wrote in Bian Zhi Lin's translation: "At night, the bell rang, during the day, the cows circled the field and roared one after another, and the shepherd stumbled home, leaving the whole world to dusk ..." thomas gray used this poem to express his long-term mourning for a dead farmer. Bian accurately grasped Gray's creative purpose and inner grief, so his translation also fully showed the style of soothing Xu, desolation and simplicity. As for the poetic style of the original work, Bian adopted the method of transplantation, which basically followed the pattern or corresponded one by one. Besides, in Selected Poems of England, Bian's translated poems are faithful to the original. In fact, in the field of poetry translation in China, there are few translators who are loyal to both the original form and the original content. In the practice of poetry translation, most translators tend to emphasize form over content, or emphasize content over form. Bian is quite successful in killing two birds with one stone. This is due to his profound understanding of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. He once suggested that, as the basis of translation, the translator should not add or subtract the content of the translation at will, but faithfulness cannot completely replace the original; Due to the inherent differences between Chinese and western languages and cultures, expression and elegance are very important in translation. It is under the support of rich theories that Bian is getting better and better in translation practice.
Third, if Shakespeare knew, he would praise it.
During his long translation career, Bian translated a large number of foreign literary works, such as Violet Girl, Four Tragedies of Shakespeare, Narrow Door and Selected English Poems. At the same time, based on his own translation experience and strong interest in poetry, he created a series of poems with western characteristics, such as Fishmir's Poems, Ten Years of Poems and Sanqiu Grass. After years of painstaking research on translation, Bian summed up a set of unique translation theories, and applied these experiences and theoretical achievements to his works, such as Traces of Shakespeare's Tragedy and Impression of Brecht's Drama. Bian's translation theory and literary criticism have had a positive impact on the development of translation work in China.
Bian's famous translation achievement is mainly his translation of Shakespeare's plays. He is generally regarded as an expert in Shakespeare's literature in domestic translation circles. Although there is no data to record the exact time when Bian started his translation work, according to his own recollection, his translation work began with the translation of West Window Collection when he was studying in Peking University in the early 20th century. At that time, the translation of "West Window Collection" was widely circulated in Peking University, which was very popular with young students in the school. This is also considered as the beginning of Bian's translation work. From then on, he devoted himself to translation, which was out of control. From 65438 to 0988, Bian's Four Kinds of Shakespeare Tragedy was published, which represented the highest level of research and translation of Shakespeare literature in China at that time. In the eyes of most scholars at home and abroad, Bian's Four Tragedies of Shakespeare and Tracing the Source of Shakespeare's Tragedy are two landmark works in the study of Shakespeare's literature in China. Bian's translation achievements began with his keen interest in translation. Bian has been interested in English since Pudong Middle School. After graduating from high school, she applied for the English Department of Peking University. In fact, Bian's interest in English can be traced back to 1926. At that time, Bian came across a collection of Shakespeare stories in Haimen, and he was deeply attracted by the wonderful content of this book. From then on, he fell in love with English literature. After going to college, Bian spent several years carefree campus life in Peking University. After graduation, Bian has been wandering around the world, but he never gave up his love for English literature because of environmental factors.
Fourth, perfection is not available, and the ultimate can be expected.
Bian's translation experience is very rich, and his achievements in the field of translation are obvious to all, but he never follows a certain fixed translation theory or model. He once said that although he has been engaged in translation for many years, he has not relied on translation theory. However, Bian does not translate at will without any basis, but has his own understanding and views on translation. As he mentioned in a preface to translation, it is almost impossible to achieve perfection in translating English poetry. Because poetry is different from novels and other literary genres, it is necessary to consider the harmony and unity of the content, form, rhythm and artistic conception of the whole poem when creating. Therefore, when translating a poem, the translator is likely to destroy the integrity and harmony of the original poem to varying degrees. Although Bian doesn't have much confidence in the perfection of poetry translation, it doesn't affect his interest in poetry translation at all. He carefully studied the methods of poetry translation and tried to make the translation more perfect on the basis of respecting the original poem.
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