5.2 Complete correspondence
Complete correspondence between the constructed image-G in TT and the original one in ST is the ideal type of the correspondent relations in translators'construction of image-G.Take an example from the translation of Li Yu's poem“Flowers in the Backyard”（李煜《后庭花破子》）：[1]
玉树后庭前，瑶草妆镜前。
Yushu houting qian,yaocao zhuangjing qian.
去年花不老，今年月又圆。
Qunian hua bu lao,jinnian yue you yuan.
莫教偏，和花月，天教长少年。
Mo jiao pian,he huayue,tianjiao chang shaonian.
The jadelike trees in flower
Stand still before the inner bower;
The moonlit jasper grass
Reflected in the mirror of brass.
The flowers of last year
Still fresh now reappear;(https://www.daowen.com)
The moon this year won't wane
But wax as full again.
Do not favor alone
The flowers and the moon!
O Heaven should have told
The young not to grow old.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
The poem fully expresses the author's yearning for a glorious life and attachment to good youth.The images of yushu(the jadelike trees)and yaocao(the moonlit jasper grass)are plants of riches and honour,which are symbols of prosperity,happiness,wealth,and longevity.The non-defined denotation of qunian(last year)and jinnian(this year)is that desirable things had after all maintained and eternal over a thousand years'prosperity despite the passing of years.hua bulao(still fresh now reappear)doesn't really mean that flower blooming is perpetual.Instead,flower fade is for its bloom in the next year and flower has an excellent blossoming year after year,as if it has never been withered away.The same is true of yue youyuan(moon won't wane,but wax as full again).To be specific,it does not to say that the moon is not subject to the changes of being crescent,rather,the waxing and waning of the moon alternates with each other.To summarize,the images of hua(flower)and yue(moon)are loaded with symbolic significance of all real earthly good and delight pursued by the poet.This led,as we shall see,to the poet's enthusiastic aspirations towards eternal youth and a rewarding life.That is,tianjiao chang shaonian‘O Heaven should have told the young not to grow old’underlines and gives prominence to their symbolic significance.In fact it is the liveliest embodiment of the poet's intense longing.However,events do not always happen as the poet's wishes.Owing to the fact that affairs of human life are inconstant and changeable and glorious youth is fleeting and perishable,it also symbolizes the poet's lamentation and a sigh of regret for life's impermanence.The poet skillfully places his internal emotion on the dynamic description about natural images and describes a peaceful scene which graphically illustrates his inner emotions.In a sense,these images are not only conventional signification of the poet's mental semantic representation,but also the very underlying foundation that formulates the artistic conception of image-G in the poem.Thus,for the translator,the smooth conveyance of Gestalt qualities of goodness and eternity about artistic conceptions contained in these images is the key to the successful construction of image-G in TT.
In Xu's translation,“Still fresh now reappear”is a profound manifestation of both mental and the linguistic actualization of the original hua bulao from ST to TT.It faithfully delivers the aesthetic implications expressed in the original artistic image that flower blooming in this year is as beautiful and bright-colored as last year.For yue youyuan,Xu does not literally translate it into“the moon wax again”,but ingeniously turns it into“the moon won't wane but wax as full again”.“Won't wane”emphasizes that despite the moon is waning sometimes,it will eventually be full.“Wax as full”is an exact equivalent for the semantic and Gestalt sense of the original.It enriches the Gestalt whole of the original and would be sufficient to explain the Gestalt significance that a full moon witnesses the fullest life.Therefore,the images of hua(flower)and yue(moon)in the Gestalt sense that has been actualized in the Xu's mind is constructed in TT and the abstract atmosphere and emotion presented by these concrete images are expatiated in his translation.Then,the imperative sentence of“do not favor alone”is adopted by Xu to provide a correct interpretation of the poet's earnest and sincere hope to enjoy happiness and prosperity forever just as blooming flowers and a full moon do.At last,the use of subjunctive mode in“O Heaven should have told”gives full expression of the poet's earnest longings,while the Gestalt sense of melancholy in source text is also described incisively and vividly.In addition,in order to create stronger expressive effect,the reversed translation method is adopted to the metaphrase of chang shaonian,namely,the use of“not to grow old”instead of“youth for long”.As a result,the Gestalt sense of harmonious melody and rhythm of ST is brilliantly realized in his translation,which provides a better way for target reader to appreciate the aesthetic essence of the original.Given the above,Xu's translation of this poem is an excellent one to manifest the original image-G and artistic conception of the poem,because it is successfully in accordance with the original aesthetic implications and Gestalt sense embedded in the poem.
Given the fact that translators are endowed with a similar underlying psychocognitive mechanism in their construction of image-G,the underlying cognitive causes in image-G construction are predictably universal.It is,thus,expected that some of the reasons contributing to varied correspondent relations will be universal in most cases.It has to be admitted that Xu's cognitive operation on his translation of the poem sets an excellent paragon for the ideal type of complete correspondence in image-G construction.Since it is more often for a translator to convert image-G received from ST into a mental picture of cognitive operation in TT,it is suggested that the main focus concerns about how his cognitive operation achieves the structured image-G in TT that is almost equivalent to the original one in ST.
Firstly,Xu's adoption of mood in his translation fosters the effective realization of image-G construction regarding its emotional representation.The imperative mood(“Do not favor alone the flowers and the moon”)and the subjunctive mood(“O heaven should have told the young not to grow old”)applied in his translation have a variety of evocative and expressive functions of setting off emotional representation of the original image-G by contrast.The emotional representation is thus constructed out of the interactivity between an appropriate unfolding of the propositional content of ST and emotional properties of image-G perceived by Xu who is in isomorphic harmony with irrationality itself.The use of mood mirrors his generalized evaluation and and subjective attitude to semantic foundation of image-G,including his estimation of the logic of propositional content(rationality)and reflection of various feelings(irrationality).Needless to say,it is a significant factor that helps recreating the TT with an equal effect of emotional representation as ST does.
Secondly,if aesthetic qualities and Gestalt essence of images with specific state and dynamic condition in ST cannot be conveyed by literal translation,translators are necessary to make some adjustment as well as adopt some particular translation methods such as generalization,omission,amplification and reversion method to achieve the non-linguistic purposes.Just as the reversed translation method Xu adopted in the metaphrase of chang shaonian,the recreation of specific artistic conception in TT comes into being in virtue of suitable compensation methods.As a matter of fact,translators sometimes may adopt only one translation method to achieve aesthetic actualization of image-G,and on more occasions,they may use more than one effective approach to set off the accurate conveyance of thematic artistic conception of image-G.
Thirdly,in the succession of Xu'aesthetic experience,the sustained interaction of the progressions of perception,organization and synthesis contributes to building a complete and harmonious image-G in TT.His aesthetic experience has various components such as ideological predisposition and emotional commitment,which are emanated from his individual perception that is indispensable to the construction of image-G in TT.Thus it is clear that in the course of perceiving and interpreting the poem,Xu starts with the cognition of the semantic meanings of key images and continuously ventures into experiencing its Gestalt essence for the purpose of actualizing a mental image of the poem.This functioning of cognition and perception operates unconsciously and naturally,giving rise to corresponding aesthetic experience of image-G due to an isomorphic commonality.