Abstract

This thesis aims at exploring the aesthetic standard of prose translation which is based on “triple beauty” theory put forward by Lu Xun and later polished by Xu Yuanchong, a prominent translator. In translation study, Chinese translators always lay much emphasis on the translation of poem and fiction; in contrast, prose translation is often neglected and this is a comparatively new frontier. Flexibility in form and diversity in content features prose as a literature genre, thus it is commonly recognized as one of the most difficult to render. A good prose is always a perfect integration of emotion, narration and argument, which adds to the difficulty of rendering.
This thesis is mainly a case study on the translated work by Mr. Zhang Peiji, who has been engaged in translation for more than fifty years and mainly in C-E translation. These works are mainly collected in a series of collection called The English Version of Selected Modern Chinese Essay, which is regarded as his classical representative work. By translating these proses, he tries to introduce to foreigners effectively modern Chinese proses. This book serves as a great textbook of C-E translation from the aspect of aesthetic study, for there are plenty of excellent examples that help to illustrate the beauty of prose as a literary genre. As a case study, this thesis focuses on three aspects, which are beauty in sound, form and meaning in prose translation.
The study shows that the reason why Mr. Zhang’s translation can arouse aesthetic feelings among readers lies in his clinging to “triple beauty theory” exemplarily.  Based on the study, we may safely come to the conclusion that “triple beauty theory” is of great significance and value in giving guidance to prose translation on an aesthetic level. Translators try to convey aesthetic information in prose translation, thus arouse equivalence of aesthetic feelings between source language readers and target language readers.

Key Words: aesthetic standard, prose, sound, form, meaning, triple beauty theory

摘要

论文以鲁迅先生提出, 并由许渊冲先生加以完善的“三美”理论为基础，旨在探讨散文翻译的美学标准。中国翻译界给予了诗歌翻译和小说翻译较多关注，相比之下，散文翻译经常会被人们所忽略。散文翻译是一个相对比较新的研究领域。作为一种文学形式，散文以其形式的灵活性和内容的多样性而著称。翻译界普遍认同散文是最难翻译的文学形式之一。一篇好的散文通常是叙事，抒情和议论的完美融合，这更是增加了散文翻译的难度。  
此论文主要以张培基先生的翻译作品作为研究对象。张培基已跻身翻译界五十多年，主攻中翻英。他的翻译作品主要收集在《英译中国现代散文》书系中，这个书系是他作品的代表。张培基先生翻译的这些散文，主要是为了向外国人介绍中国近代散文。从美学翻译的标准来看，此书系堪称中译英教科书的典范，其中翻译语言优美，展示了散文之美。论文主要从三个方面展开讨论：音美，意美和形美。
研究发现，张培基先生的翻译作品之所以能扣人心弦，给读者以美的享受是因为他在翻译过程中牢牢遵守了“三美原则”。由此，我们不难得出结论：“三美原则”对于指导美学层次上的散文翻译具有十分重要的价值和意义。在此基础上, 译者能够试图相对完整地传递美学信息，力求使源语言读者和译语言读者能够达到对等的审美效果。

关键词：美学标准；散文；音美；形美；意美；三美原则