Xu Yuanchong’s Translations of Reduplicated Words in 300 Yuan Songs

Abstract

As an indispensable form of literature and art in ancient China, Yuanqu began to emerge in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Yuan Dynasty. After the glorious prosperity of the poetry of Tang and the Ci-poetry of the Song, Yuanqu presented its unique charm. It had inherited the fresh elegance of poetry and lyrics, while also attacking the darkness of society, resisting the tyrannical dictatorship of the government and directly pointing to the sharp social contradictions which make it shine uniquely. After Yuanqu emerged on the literary stage, it immediately demonstrated its constant vitality, making a far-reaching and outstanding contribution to the development and prosperity of poetry in China. In Yuanqu, reduplicated words are an important part of the vocabulary composition. They are always frequently used by poets, displaying a unique charm. By enhancing the rhythmic sense of poets’ language, reduplicated words add stronger appeal to the expression of emotions, which makes Yuanqu have a distinctive folk color and a vital life breath. However, due to their special structures and roles, translators often encounter great obstacles in the translation process. By comprehensively categorizing and studying typical cases, this essay analyzes the strategies applied by Xu Yuanchong in translating the reduplicated words in 300 Yuan Songs, and concludes the principles of translating the reduplicated words in Chinese poetry in the hope that this essay will provide future reference and fill in the gap in translating reduplicated words in ancient Chinese literary works.