Translation of Farewell Imagery

Farewell poems from the Tang Dynasty often used existing objects to portray images. These images are endowed with Chinese cultural connotations. They can evoke a multitude of senses in the reader, including sadness or sorrow. The selection of farewell imagery must be in accordance with the theme and the “mood” (意境), in which Tien Rei⁷⁰ stated that the mood of the poem is created by the combination of images. These images integrate the subjective emotions of the poet with the objective scenery, not only creating but also enhancing the mood of the poem (R. Tien 6). Yan Chao⁷¹ stated that “imagery can reflect the social reality, express the poet’s emotions, heighten the artistic conception and embody the poet’s writing style” (58). Zhang Yong and Chen Juan⁷² have also concluded that “in order to establish the most similar effects of the original text on the reader, it is essential for the translation to recreate the circumstances and atmosphere of the original. Therefore, the translator must keep in mind the similarities and differences in both languages and cultures” (Y.

Zhang and J. Chen 100). In other words, the main purpose of imagery translation lies in resolving issues that may arise from the cultural differences, and evoking the target

70 Tien, Rei. [田蕊], 《唐代離別詩的意項研究》. 延邊大學, 2010. Print.

71 Yan, Chao. [閆超], 《中國古典詩詞意象傳達及翻譯策略研究》. 大原理工大學, 2010. Print.

72 Zhang, Yong, and Chen Juan. [張涌、陳娟], 〈中國古典詩歌意象的翻譯理論研究〉. 《銅陵學 院學報》.1 (2010): 94-100. Print.

readers’ imagination so that they may resonate with the poet.

While discussing the translatability of poetry, Feng Huazhan proposed four difficulties translators may face: poetic phonology, implication and connotation, historical and cultural background, and legends and mythology (12-13). Ding Na⁷³ has also summarized a few cultural differences that may occur while translating Chinese images into English: different geographical situations, different literary influences and different legends and mythologies (18-19). For example, due to the geographic situation, while the “west-wind” in England may be a symbol of spring⁷⁴, it is the sign of winter in China. The pronunciation of “willow” (柳) in Chinese is similar to the character for “留”, which means “to stay” or “to want someone to stay”;

and thus the willow often appears in Chinese farewell poetry. In English literature, on the other hand, “willow” has close connotations with “abandoned lovers” and “broken hearts” (Stafford 27). Thus Desdemona implies her coming death in Othello with the

“Song of Willow”, while in the Merchant of Venice, Lorenzo mentions that Queen Dido committed suicide after she was deserted by her beloved, with the willow as an emblem of “slighted love”. Finally, from legends and mythology, taking the

“narcissus” plant for example, in English it can arouse an image of a handsome young man who was in love with himself (N. Ding 19). According to Burton Watson,

Chinese literature is “especially fond of employing allusions to the famous events and personages of the nation’s lengthy past” (2). For example, the narcissus flower was said to be the incarnation of Emperor Yao’s daughters after their death, representing

“utmost affection” or “purity”. These examples are only the representation of a few geographical, literal, or mythological differences that may appear between Chinese and English culture. A translator must take notice of these differences and avoid establishing the wrong connotations.

73 Ding, Na. [丁娜], 《中國古典詩歌的意象英譯研究—帕爾默文化語言學視角》. 遼寧師範大學,

2008. Print.

74 The “west-wind” may also have the connotation of “hope and force” in western culture, due to the poem “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (M.Q. Zhang and W.Q. Mao 43).

Li Chin⁷⁵ states that the farewell poems of Wang Wei mostly depict the location of the parting (132). According to the previous chapter, this study has

examined some common farewell images of Wang Wei. Just as in any farewell poetry, the “willow” is one of the most common plant images to appear in Chinese poetry, animal imagery includes “wild geese”, “horses”, “monkeys”, and “cuckoos”. Natural imagery is also favored by Wang Wei, due to the effect they have on setting the ambience of the poem. Natural imagery includes the seasons, the landscape, and natural objects. Autumn and winter are the most common seasons used in farewell poems; mountains, water, and clouds are the more common natural landscape and objects to appear. Man-made objects, such as boats, sails, wine, and pavilion, are also often seen in farewell poems.

4.2.1 Plant Farewell Imagery

“Willow” is one of the most frequently used images in farewell poems. The custom of “breaking off a branch of willow” (折柳) while seeing someone off originated from the Han dynasty. The willow has two connotations. The first being the pronunciation of the character willow in Chinese, “柳” (/liu/), sounds very similar to “留” (/liu/), which means to “to keep” or “to stay”. Secondly, the soft and slender form of the willow symbolizes “continuous feeling”. Wang Wei used the imagery of the willow in A Farewell Song (〈送元二使安西〉), appearing in the second line “客 舍青青柳色新”, “the tavern looks green due to reflection of the fresh green willow”.

Wang also used the imagery of willow in Seeing Shen Zifu off to the East of

Changjiang River (〈送沈子福之江東〉), appearing in the first line “楊柳渡頭行客 稀”, “in the dock surrounded by willows, travelers are scarce”.

The imagery of “grass” is also often associated with the theme of farewell, and is used to convey the “sadness” or the “omnipresence” of sadness. The state of the grass is also important. For example, “spring grass” (春草) has the connotations of

“life” or “cheerfulness”, “withered grass” can represent “old age” or “desolation”, and

“pallid grass” can signify “the cold and bare winter”. In the third line of Wang Wei’s

75 Li, Chin. [李靜], 〈王維送別詩的意象分析〉. 《青年文學家》.4 (2009). Print.

A Parting (〈山中送別〉), “春草明年綠” (“the spring grass turns green again next year”) uses the imagery of grass to represent something that is reoccurring to contrast with the uncertainty of the friend’s return.

4.2.2 Animal Farewell Imagery

The imagery of “wild goose” is another commonly used farewell image, usually associated with the “carrier of messages” or someone who is heading away.

The imagery of “cuckoo” is also used in farewell poetry due to its cry, which is said to sound similar to Chinese “不如歸去”, meaning “return”. The cuckoo can also be called Du Yu (杜宇), Zi Gui (子規), or Zi Juan (子娟). Du Yu was an ancient king whose soul became a cuckoo after death. The cuckoo would cry miserably after his death due to the destruction of his country. In the beginning of Wang Wei’s Farewell to Prefect Li of Zizhou (〈送梓州李使君〉), Wang described the scenery of Li’s destination, which has an abundance of cuckoos “千山響杜鵑”, but the sounds of the cuckoo in this line does not include a sorrowful atmosphere.

The imagery of “monkey” also appears in farewell poetry, due to the plaintive wail it makes, creating an aggravated sadness. Horses also appear often in Chinese poetry, for they are one of the most common transportation devices used by the ancient Chinese people. In order to get to the outskirts of town or to the borders, where partings most commonly occurred, people often rode horses to these locations.

For example, in the second line of Seeing off Director Mi (〈送禰郎中〉) “況復鄉山 外，猿啼湘水流”, the poet “gets off the horse” (下馬) and drinks with the departing friend, while the “cry of the ape” (猿啼) fills the scenery with a sense of sorrow.

4.2.3 Natural Farewell Imagery

Natural images that often appear in farewell poems include clouds, the moon, rain, mountains, sunsets, rivers, and snow. The “mountain” imagery often represents a

base of departure or the destination of the traveler. The “cloud” imagery is associated with “being carefree” or “at ease”, in contrast with the sadness of the poet or the friend. For example, in the second and third line of A Parting (〈送別〉), the poet writes of the friend’s response to where he is heading, which was the “foot of the mountains” (南山陲). Mountains are typically the most common destination for retreat. Finally, in the last line the “endless white clouds” (白雲無盡時) represents the ease and leisure the friend will experience once he is in retreat.

Other common natural farewell imagery include “rivers”, which flow away, symbolizing the “going away” of the other person, or the sense of “no return”. The

“moon” imagery is often associated with the “lone poet”, who is left by himself after the departure of his company. “Sunset” is the time for rest. It may also represent “old age”, “ending”, and a sense of “no return” or “helplessness”. Finally, “snow”, which falls in winter, signifies the “cold” and “loneliness” of the poet or friend after

departure.