Transform the beauty created by one country into the beauty of the whole world

Scholar's biography

Xu Yuanchong (1921-2021), born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, was a translator and a former professor at Peking University. He has been engaged in literary translation for more than 80 years, and his translations span Chinese, English, French and other languages, including "The Book of Songs", "Chu Ci" and "Analects", French translations include "Selected Tang Poems", "Selected Song Poems", "Forty-two Poems of Mao Zedong", etc., and Chinese translations include Stendhal's "The Red and the Black", Flaubert's "Madame Bovary", Romain Rolland's "John Christopher", etc.

Xu Yuanchong loved classical literature all his life and devoted himself to translating a large number of Chinese classical classics. Of the more than 100 works published in Chinese, English, and French, almost half of them are translations of classical Chinese poetry. At the same time, the "Three Beauties Theory" created by him not only embodies the truth-seeking spirit of Western culture, but also observes the beauty-seeking tradition of Chinese culture, and promotes the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Western cultures.

"Hurry up and hurry up to read"

Xu Yuanchong was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province in 1921, and his cousin Xiong Shiyi was a famous translator who translated the play "Wang Baochuan" into English, which caused a sensation when it was staged in England and was even received by the British dramatist George Bernard Shaw. His experience sparked a strong interest in English at a young age, and also made him set up an ambition to learn English well. In 1938, at the age of 17, Xu Yuanchong was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages of National Southwest Associated University, where he studied under many master scholars at that time: Qian Zhongshu and Chen Futian taught English, Zhu Ziqing and Wen Yiduo taught Chinese, as well as Harvard Ph.D. and Peking University's famous teacher Pi Mingju taught Western history courses, as well as the thinker Zhang Foquan's political courses. In such an environment, Xu Yuanchong received academic enlightenment and guidance, and soon became one of the "five talents" of Southwest Associated University, known as the "Five Walls of Arts, Science, Law and Engineering", of which "Wen" refers to Xu Yuanchong.

From 1938 to 1941, Kunming was frequently bombed by the Japanese army, and the Southwest Associated University became a target many times. In the turbulent years, Xu Yuanchong studied harder. He wrote in one of his diaries: "Twenty or thirty Japanese planes bombed Kunming...... The bombs landed right in front of and behind us, blowing up a lot of craters and kicking up large clouds of dirt that were overwhelming on us, but luckily we didn't hit the shards. When I returned to the new school building, I saw that one of the dormitories of the Faculty of Science had been blown down, and two large craters had been blown out on the basketball court...... The bed was covered with dust. I didn't suffer any loss under the catastrophe, hurry up and hurry up to read, don't wait until the explosion is too bad to read. ”

When the country is in crisis, it is more important to study and serve the country. Xu Yuanchong once recorded his teacher's teachings in his school diary: "We must have both patriotic enthusiasm and the determination to save the country through science." "In 1941, the American Flying Tigers came to China to support, and Kunming, where the Southwest Associated University is located, is the base camp of the Flying Tigers. Xu Yuanchong participated in the open recruitment examination and became a translator. According to statistics, 834 students of Southwest Associated University enlisted in the army during the Anti-Japanese War, and today we can still find the name of Xu Yuanchong, a student who joined the army, on the back of the monument to Southwest Associated University.

Proposed the "Three Beauties Theory" of Translating Poetry

In 1948, Xu Yuanchong went to France to study. In 1950, he returned to China to teach French and English at the Xiangshan College of Foreign Chinese in Beijing. After that, he taught English and French and translated literature at Luoyang University of Foreign Chinese. Subsequently, he published a number of important translations, including the English translation of All for Love, the French translation of Gora Brennon, the Chinese translation of Rural Essays, and the Chinese translation of Mao Zedong's poems into English and French, and he became the first person to translate Chinese poetry into English and French rhyme.

Xu Yuanchong set the creative goal of translation as "beauty", believing that "keeping the truth can make the reader 'know', keeping the beauty can make the reader 'like', and only the translation that is both true and beautiful can make people 'enjoy'". He emphasized that transforming the beauty created by one country into the beauty of the whole world is the greatest pleasure of the whole world. In 1979, Xu Yuanchong first proposed the "Three Beauties Theory" of translated poetry, that is, on the premise of conveying the beauty of the original meaning, convey the beauty of sound and rhyme as much as possible, and on this basis, strive to convey the beauty of form and pursue the coexistence of the three beauties. He himself is a best-in-practice of this theory.

In 1983, Xu Yuanchong went to Peking University to teach. Some students recalled that once Xu Yuanchong said that there were palindrome poems in English, and he wrote a sentence on the blackboard that Napoleon said: "Able was I ere I saw Elba". The meaning of the whole sentence is similar to "Before being exiled to the island of Elba, I could do anything". Xu Yuanchong asked the students how to translate, and some people said, "If you don't see the Yellow River, you won't die" and "If you don't see the coffin, you won't cry." He laughed and said that everyone still did not translate Napoleon's domineering, and from the unity of the three beauties of Italy and the United States, the beauty of sound, and the beauty of form, he translated it as "I will not fall until I reach the Russian island", and everyone applauded.

In 1995, Xu Yuanchong's translation of "Red and Black" sparked a great discussion in the translation circles, and the atmosphere of contention was enthusiastic. Some translators have different views on Xu Yuanchong's translation methods, while Xu Yuanchong argues with reason. He believes that for a good translation, "not exceeding the rules" is only the starting point, and "doing what you want" is the high standard. He borrowed the words of the painter Wu Guanzhong, "The kite is constantly on the line, and the higher it flies, the better." He advocated that what the translation world should oppose was the "translation tone", not the American literary style, and if the beauty could not be discussed, there would be no need for the existence of literature.

Xu Yuanchong's "Theory of the Three Beauties" opened up new ideas for literary translation, enriched the in-depth translation and understanding of poetry, literature and art in the foreign language circles, and was an important pillar of Chinese translation theory in the 20th century. Yang Zhenning praised him for successfully integrating the characteristics of Chinese Chinese characters in his translation, so that English poems are translated into Chinese poems, and Chinese poems are translated into English poems, all of which have the texture of poetry. Qian Zhongshu also commented on Xu Yuanchong's translation of Mao Zedong's poems: "Dancing with shackles of rhyme and rhythm is amazing and flexible." ”

As a translator, Xu Yuanchong has always emphasized that translation is not only a simple language conversion, but also a process of transcending cultural differences and conveying thoughts and emotions. Therefore, translators should have a deep cultural background and extensive knowledge reserves, be able to accurately understand the cultural connotation of the original work, and at the same time flexibly use the target language and cultural expressions to ensure that the translated text can accurately convey the meaning and emotion of the original work.

Adhere to the "1000 words per day"

After his retirement, Xu Yuanchong entered the peak of his translation career. He lives in a modest home on the third floor of Peking University's Changchun Garden, with a simple single bed covered with mosquito nets on a slick concrete floor, and an old wooden table with two paper English and French dictionaries on top of the window. He relied on the two dictionaries every night to translate, often working until the wee hours of the morning, and he said "get used to it."

There was not enough time during the day, and he stole time from the night to "make up for the loss of the day". When there is no light in the old building of Changchun Garden late at night, there is always a window that shines with warm light, and that is the window of Xu Yuanchong's study. Every night from ten o'clock to three or four o'clock in the morning, this period is the golden time for him, the "high yield period". This kind of high-intensity labor is very difficult for young people, but Xu Yuanchong is not tired of it, and in his old age, he still insists on entering the daily translation results into the computer file word by word, and implements the work plan of "translating 1,000 words a day". This never-ending spirit is deeply admirable.

In 2007, Xu Yuanchong was diagnosed with cancer, but he still wants to cultivate a team that can continue his career. In 2012, he personally initiated the establishment of a translation consultant team and a technical team, and started the overall English project of China's "Twenty-four History". He said, "The introduction of culture is not proportional to the export, and others know too little about us." "Twenty-four History" is the core of Chinese culture, and only by "letting the world know about me" can the "other" not be so arrogant. Now, Xu Yuanchong has passed away for nearly 3 years, but his "Twenty-four History" team is still in their respective positions, inheriting his unfinished business.