5.4 Crossed correspondence
Crossed correspondence between the constructed image-G in TT and the original one in ST is the second non-ideal type of the correspondent relations in translators'construction of image-G.This type suggests that the original image-G in ST overlaps with the constructed one in TT.That is to say，partial Gestalt qualities and aesthetic characters of the constructed image-G in TT covers the same part of the original image-G in ST.Take an example from the translation of Li Yu's poem“Migrant Orioles”（李煜《喜迁莺》）：[3]
晓月坠，宿云微，无语枕频欹。
Xiaoyue zhui,suyun wei,wuyu zhen pinyi.
梦回芳草思依依，天远雁声稀。
Menghui fangcao si yiyi,tianyuan yansheng xi.
啼莺散，馀花乱，寂寞画堂深院。
Tiying san,yuhua luan,jimo huatang shenyuan.
片红休扫尽从伊，留待舞人归。
Pianhong xiusao jin congyi,liudai wuren gui.
The morning moon is sinking;
Few clouds are floating there.
I lean oft on my pillow with no word.
E'en in my dream I'm thinking(https://www.daowen.com)
Of the green grass so fair,
But no wild geese afar are heard.
No more orioles'song,
Late vernal blooms whirl round.
In courtyard as in painted hall
Solitude reigns the whole night long.
Don't sweep away the fallen petals on the ground!
Leave them there till the dancer comes back from the ball!
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
The poem exhibits the poet's enormous yearning and lovesickness for his beloved since being separated from each other.In the first line,as contrasting structure,the juxtaposition of xiaoyue zhui(morning moon is sinking)and suyun wei(few clouds are floating)plays its role in presenting a vivid picture of daylight fades when the moon sets.It bores serene and composed atmosphere of which plays its art infection in the overall artistic conception of aesthetic image.The next line menghui fangcao si yiyi(E'en in my dream I'm thinking of the green grass so fair)is a profound manifestation of the poet's sentimental attachment of being lost in a deep reverie.The poet finds he remembers fondly the beloved one who is in his inner heart even when he dozes off,notwithstanding how heartrending the sorrow of parting is.In his dreams they have a reunion while she has gone without a trace when he wakes up.The sentiment of yearning and longing that always lingers on his mind cannot be driven off.The poet employs menghui fangcao(E'en in my dream I'm thinking of the green grass)as the whys and wherefores of si yiyi(so fair).Meanwhile,with the help of the adoption of si yiyi,a constructed form of“V+reduplication words”,it explicitly describes the Gestalt essence that the poet is overflowing with yearning and lovesickness for his beloved which remains unfading and will last for ever.However,wild geese's sound is barely audible since the sky is broad and huge,which reminds the poet of the heartbreaking fact that he has not heard from his long-estranged beloved ever since the separation.As a result,his heart is weighed down with grief.In such a view,the concrete elements of yansheng xi(no more orioles'song)correspond to the abstract Gestalt qualities of grief of parting in the same way as in the original poem.In a sense,tianyuan yansheng xi(but no wild geese afar are heard no more orioles)song'is the poetic eye of interpreting Gestalt essence and artistic conception of the poem since it entails pronounced Gestalt properties of the poem but not independently significant.
Therefore,as the reproduction of artistic conception of image-G presented in ST,it is virtually essential for translators to reconstruct the aesthetic effects on Gestalt qualities of parting grief and deep yearning embodied in fangcao si yiyi(I'm thinking of the green grass so fair)and yansheng xi(no more orioles'song).It mainly includes the following key points.Firstly,the Gestalt conception of fangcao si yiyi(I'm thinking of the green grass)in general is to sensitize the translator to the holistic aesthetic ideorealm of ST and to enlighten him on the Gestalt construction of tianyuan yansheng xi(but no wild geese afar are heard no more orioles'song)and fangcao si yiyi(I'm thinking of the green grass so fair)in TT.Hence while formulating almost equivalent aesthetic experience of the original into English,the translator should give insight into sentiment factors of fangcao si yiyi(I'm thinking of the green grass so fair)and tianyuan yansheng xi(but no wild geese afar are heard no more orioles'song)that are relevant for holistic image-G and should be unfolded in TT.Secondly,the poet's literary creation of image-G is an integrative and intensifying process,which is not static but evolves gradually buildup Gestalt essence.It is thus very necessary that the translator distinguishes the endowed Gestalt layers between fangcao si yiyi(I'm thinking of the green grass so fair)and tianyuan yansheng xi(but no wild geese afar are heard no more orioles'song)and such progressive relations should be realized at the linguistic level in TT under the guidance of the poem's thematic Gestalt whole.
Xu translates fangcao into“green grass”,which could be seen as an allusion to the poet's remembering fondly of the beloved.si yiyi(so fair)is a proper implied lexical item employed by Xu,which could be deemed as Xu's phrase for the poet's long lost lover.However,Xu doesn't seek out corresponding words to convey the Gestalt essence and emotional connotation of si yiyi(so fair).The omittance of si yiyi(so fair)in TT is not consistent with the holistic emotional representation that lies the very Gestalt essence of a lasting loss feeling.The omittance is thus resulted from Xu's inadequate empathy for the poet's profound emotion when interpreting si yiyi(so fair).In other words,Xu'translation is not in isomorphic harmony with the emotional essence and Gestalt predestination embodied in si yiyi(so fair).Besides,Xu turns tianyuan yansheng xi into“but no wild geese afar are heard no more orioles’song”,which is actually a slightly crossed deviation from the original one in the semantic aspect.It could be found that Xu's translation is not in agreement with the semantic representation of yansheng xi(no more orioles’song)depicted by the poet since his translation doesn't reveal the semantic connotation of yansheng xi(no more orioles'song)according to literary context,namely,the almost inaudible wild geese's sound.However,his translation preserves the emotional features and Gestalt qualities of the poet's state of mind manifested in yansheng xi(no more orioles'song),that is,the sorely longing for the beloved one and the bitterness of separation.The emotional features and Gestalt qualities are realized not only through pragmatic adjustments but also in the line through which the original image is linguistic corresponded.In sum,although Xu's translation of the poem does not satisfy the semantic requirement of the original,it is in tune with the wealthy emotional connotation and Gestalt lyricism.In view of the above,Xu's construction of image-G in the poem is therefore a polysynthetic one and forms a crossed correspondence relation with the original one in ST.The semantic representation of images may be presented with a rough interpretation and its semantic schema may be generally built up of images integrated in sequences of fused.This,however,tends to leave out or blur too many of the emotional features and Gestalt qualities and there is usually something unfaithful about such syntheses of the original image-G.
Conclusions could be drawn based on the above analysis.Firstly,in some cases,emotional features and Gestalt qualities can be regarded as constituting element of image-G embodied in classical Chinese poetry,which implies concentrate conception,intuitive imagination,sublimed realm of unique cultural features as we explore in the elucidation of the images of fangcao and yansheng.If translators don't have adequate intertextual transformation with the source culture of image-G,it is hard for them to seek out a aesthetic equivalence one for this sort of image-G in TT.In that case,translators should choose proper translation strategies and wording so as to retain the semantic representation of images as far as possible and achieve the optimal relevance of the emotional features and Gestalt qualities,such as contrasted complementary method of setting off textual context and cultural supplement method.Secondly,the case study of Xu's translation provided has proven that quite a few emotional qualities of certain images are expressive in image-G actualization only when in relation to the entirety of the image-G whole in TT.It is revealing therefore that translators should get to the bottom of such emotional qualities embalmed in certain images though they are not plainly manifested in the original poem.Translating such images,translators should reproduce not only the implied emotional connotative meaning,but also the emotional intensity that exists in the interrelationship of entirety of the image-G whole in ST.