A Study on the Realization of Beauty in Literary Translation— A Case Study of CE Translation of Call To Arms

A Study on the Realization of Beauty in Literary Translation— A Case Study of CE Translation of Call To Arms

燕守宝

（上海政法学院语言文化学院，上海 201701）

Abstract: Luxun’s Call To Arm is always regarded as a masterpieces in Chinese Literature. To re-create its beauty, phonology, rhetoric and text structure should be under consideration. This thesis highlights the distinct place of beauty is in literary translation.

Key Words: literary translation, Call to Arms, realization of beauty

1. Introduction

Lu Xun is a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun’s works, especially Call to Arms, witnessed the great revolution of China, known as New Culture Movement. The old but strong feudal culture caused him to reflect and review the necessity of promoting new and scientific culture. As one of his most famous works, Call to Arms was thought to be the enlightenment of contemporary literature, including A Madman’s Dairy, Medicine, Tomorrow and so on. In details, the harm and sham of feudal culture was brought to light. Moreover, it covers the problem in our emotional world, which was silence.

There has been a lasting issue for an overwhelmingly long time on translation. Which epitomizes the innate character of translation, artistry or science? Many intellectuals put forward their ideas in their way. But translation is a complex subject since it bonds to others like linguistics and literature. In my point of view, first of all, literary translation is obviously literature, which means it has artistry. (Holmes, 1991)

2. The value of beauty in literature translation

2.1 Beauty in literature

For the artistry of literary, a visible achievement is beauty. Unlike scientific and technical translation, literary is a process in which human’s inspiration works effectively. Translation dealing with scientific and technical writings can be handled by machines.(Inzucchi & Rosenstock, 2005)

Lu Xun is a famous Chinese language master in modern times. His work contains a large number of culturally loaded words. It has a distinctive national cultural characteristics, involving classical mythology people, folk customs, ancient imperial examination system, ritual etiquette, astronomical calendar, etc. It is very representative.

2.2 The difference of beauty in Chinese and English literature

The main feature of English and American literature is that it is intuitive and distinct. (Gutt, 1996) In many literary works, the author expresses his own writing purposes and emotional appeals in an apparent way (Ginsburgh, Weber & Weyers, 2008). Compared with Chinese literature, the main guide of emotion in English and American literature is very clear (Inzucchi & Rosenstock, 2005). Although readers cannot directly guess the final outcome of the story, they can step into the literary world through the lines of words. This style has been adopted especially by realism and has become a major feature of modern literature.

The combination of poetry, painting and calligraphy is an important historical tradition of Chinese culture. Due to this potential influence, Chinese writers have paid attention to, intervened in and considered traditional paintings and calligraphy, folk art, modern art, art in woodcut art, traditional painting and calligraphy, etc since the 20th century. There are many viewpoints and insights worthy of exploration in the development of the type. These arts have complex internal relations with the cultural and artistic practices of modern Chinese writers and their literary texts. They are common to the literary trends and literary texts.

For a long period of time, Chinese is advanced in humanities. Among the reasons, the form of economy is the most important one. Agriculture was the basis of the whole nations, so everything connecting with it was highlighted by ruler, such as astronomy, mathematics, geography and literature. Our national values were constructed gradually. Farmers rely on nature only, and they don’t like to struggle. Thus, Chinese values stand for peace, nature, moral and beauty.

Chinese literature prefer connotation in the influence of politics. Chinese writers have always been more subtle. Whether it is poetry or prose, there is very little straightforwardness. Indirect discourse requires a certain literary skill to be able to read. The beauty of the text only accounts for few, and the beauty of literature is still in the mood. If an article is only beautiful in writing but fails to create a good mood, which is flashy.

3. The beauty in Call to Arms

Lu Xun’s novels have their own distinct styles and characteristics. His creation proves that he is a mature master. He skillfully controls the unique artistic methods and techniques to develop the description of life and the creation of images.

3.1 Shaping of characters

Lu Xun used a typical approach when portraying characters. His typical method of shaping has its own characteristics. He believes that there are two typical methods.

One is focus on the only one that gives you inspiration. From his talking to behaviors, you see carefully and write every detail, even the make-up of his clothes. The other is finding similarity of one group and concluding their characters in common. He has always taken the latter method. Lu Xun consciously used this method to serve the transformation of society and people's souls. The key of this method is finding the connection of their characteristics. On the contrary, the author is familiar with the characters he writes after a long period of quiet and meticulous attention. He understands the specific social attributes and complex contents of the characters, and the method dedicated to one person is for Lu Xun. It is not enough to express all the content that he has learned, and it is not enough to achieve his creative purpose. Therefore, he needs to “make all kinds of people” according to the specific social attributes of the characters and their complexity, and to pick up the details that are sufficient to fully reveal the personalities of the characters.

Lu Xun is good at using the techniques of painting to create a typical image. The characteristics of the white drawing technique are real, and simple. The image of Lu Xun’s novels rarely has long descriptions and rhetorical flourish, and there are no twists and turns of the plot. He always expresses the character’s features with simple life description which is easy to follow. For example, after more than 20 years, the author only wrote that he called me instead of the lord, ordered his son kowtowed to the lord, and he would like to hang the incense burner, candlestick and ordinary coping, and so on. The mental state of numbness is revealed in a very real way. In connection with the white description technique, Lu Xun can best grasp the specialty of the character, and portray the soul of the character with very simple strokes. This is the method of drawing the eyes or transmitting the souls.

Lu Xun’s creation has a clear purpose of fighting. Based on his extensive life experience and deep understanding of social history, he has produced his themes and characters. Before Lu Xun is deeply understood writing, the social content and ideological significance of the character’s connotation, which makes it possible for him to select the richest features, the most revealing details of the characters’ spirit, and reject those accidental, superficial things, thus vividly highlighting the features of the character.

3.2 Structure and language

As for the structure of Lu Xun’s novels, he rarely uses compound interlacing techniques, mostly single-line development. In the single-line development, it is not a tortuous storyline, but is connected with pieces of daily life, scenes and episodes. This kind of structural approach is mainly to obey the requirements of character, rather than the layout according to a complete story. Every fragments, situations and occasions are not interesting or touching like a story, but show the strong personality of characters.

The refinement of language is an important feature of Lu Xun’s novels. This is inseparable from the expressive techniques of depicting characters. Because the author knows the personality of the characters very deeply, he grasps the feature of the character while describing it without tedious brushwork, and writes it neatly. There are few descriptions in Lu Xun’s novels. In some of the only examples of writing, they are very labor-saving. He often combines writing and narrative so that people can’t tell whether it is a narrative or not; and these descriptions are often written by the writer’s soul experience and the rendering of emotions, so it is full of lyricism. For example, the description of the blessings not only vividly depicts the Lunar New Year’s atmosphere, but also strongly contrasts the tragedy of Xianglin, expressing the author’s incomparable taste of the world’s sages. Resentful, a strong hatred of the blessings of the four masters who deprive others of their happiness and never fall asleep.

The ideological content and artistic form of Lu Xun’s works have reached a fairly high degree of unity. It has a distinct Chinese style and literary style. His works belong not only to China but also to the world.

Ah Q is a classic image created by Lu Xun. Why there is no such vivid image born in today’s literati. The reason is that society creates people. In a feudal society thought was stubborn, landlord was in power, and warlords ruled. Wu village was a village poisoned by feudal thoughts. Ah Q was a weak person. He was oppressed by these landlords, and Ah Q’s fake and thoughts such as the big defense of men and women are definitely not unique to him. This is the product of the times. Another example is that Ah Q brought us a few dramas that made us laugh. Seeing the killing of the revolutionaries, the reconciliation of the little nuns, love, and the participation in the revolutionary army are all staged in front of the essence of feudal eating. It is not something that one is willing to change.

Anyone who has read The True Story of Ah Q thinks that he is a very sad person. Ah Q, he was not affected by a series of blows, such as Grandpa Zhao, Zhao Baiyan, Xiao D, and the black dog in Jingxiu. The saddest thing is that he has a magic weapon that makes people laugh and cry, that is, he took the “spiritual victory law”. This is Ah Q’s philosophy of life and that of more weak people under the feudal oppression system.

We always read The True Story of Ah Q with a smile, as if the poor Ah Q has been laughed by everyone since it was created. However, this laugh is not a smile that can be seen, but a satire, with contempt, and perhaps with a smile of compassion and compassion. His spiritual victory, love values, and his gloating are often the reward of our after-meal talks.

It can be said that Ah Q is a small character in the society at that time, a weak person with no friends, no relatives, and no one who thinks for him. In any era, there will be weak people. As a modern person in a new society, we should reflect on, deal with, and truly set off the responsibility of caring for the weak people around us.

There is a kind of enthusiasm in the height of silence, which makes people burn so much that they scream and scream the words where they live in pains, but they cannot fully express their feelings, or even if the words have blood and tears, others cannot fully comprehend them. After loneliness, it is a more sober pain.

4. The realization of beauty

4.1 Rhetoric in literature

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, most likely to persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. (Newmark, 1988) As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the European tradition. The typical rhetoric in both Lu Xun’s original works and Yang’s translation is worth analyzing.(Inzucchi & Rosenstock, 2005)

ST: 这寂寞又一天天的长大起来，如大毒蛇，缠住了我的灵魂了。(鲁迅，2006：4)

TT: And this feeling of loneliness grew day by day, coiling about my soul like a

huge poisonous snake.(Yang ＆ Gladys. 1954)

Simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Although similes and metaphors are similar, similes explicitly use connecting words, such as like, as, so, than, or various verbs, though these specific words are not always necessary. While similes are mainly used in forms of poetry that compare the inanimate and the living, there are also terms in which similes and personifications are used for humorous purposes and comparison.(Guo, 1998)

In ST: The word“如”is the connecting word which shows simile as “ like” in TT. Simile gives a method in which abstract objects are able to transfer into concrete ones, so that we can have a better acknowledge of them. Further more, it provides an active and alive literary word for us, which make us feel real and empathetic. All emotions are below the surface. Readers can have empathy through reading it carefully.

4.2 The effect of settings

In works of narrative, especially fictional, the literary element setting includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction. The elements of the story setting include the passage of time, which may be static in some stories or dynamic in others with, for example, changing seasons.(Sanchez, 2009)

In A Mad Man’s Diary, there has been a simple but effectively emotional setting. “Tonight the moon is very bright.” (Yang＆Gladys, 1954) There is no excrescent word. Every word is simple but elegant. It tells the time when it happens and the emotion in lines. Bright moon is beauty and hopeful, but the character can’t see it in several months. The sorrow and sadness become easy to touch.

5. Conclusion

The realization of beauty in literature did a perfect job on this process. All of readers can have empathy by reading the translated works. They will have an imagination on their future, which encourage them to fight against reality. That is the amazing force in literature. It provides the most significant thing in life, which is hope. Without the realization of beauty, books may not have the magic to grab reader’s interest and fail to cheer them up.

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