The National Social Science Fund Project of China “Research on the Translation, Dissemination, and Reception of The Book of Songs from a Digital Humanities Perspective (Number: 22BYY039)” The Postgraduate Scientific Research Innovation Project of Hunan Province “On Construction of a Graded Evaluation Model for the Reception of The Book of Songs in the English-Speaking World from a Digital Humanities Perspective (Number: LXBZZ2024237)”.
Published: September 30, 2025
Article history: Updated on June 17, 2026
Abstract
In the long river of Chinese classical culture, The Book of Songs occupies an important position. At present, more than 20 English versions of this classic have been published, among which the most influential ones are James Legge (1871), Arthur Waley(1937), Burnhard Karlgren(1950), Ezra Pound(1954), and Xu Yuanchong(1993). Based on the Chinese-English parallel corpus of The Book of Songs, this study makes a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the five English versions of The Book of Songs from three dimensions: statistical parameters, narrative parameters, and specific language project parameters, to investigate the characteristics of the five English versions of The Book of Songs. It is found that in terms of statistical parameters, Pound shows the highest STTR value and lexi-cal richness among the five translators. The average word length of Waley’s translation is the shortest, which reduces the difficulty of reading. Xu Yuanchong’s translation has the shortest average sentence length, which partly re-flects the characteristics of the source language. In Kargren’s and Pound’s translations, the use of semicolons and line breaks minimizes reading barriers. In terms of narrative parameters, the high-frequency words in the five translations show obvious overlap in prepositions, articles, and conjunctions. Legge and Waley mainly adopt the first-person narrative, while Karlgren adopts the third-person perspective. In terms of specific language project parameters, Legge’s translation used a large number of function words to ensure the faithfulness of the text. Waley’s translation is guided by the domestication strategy and uses clauses that conform to English expression habits. Under the guidance of the foreignization translation strategy, Karlgren’s translation uses literal translation and third-person narration to enhance the objectivity of the text. Pound’s translation integrates Old English into Contemporary English and indirectly reproduces the historical context of the original text. Xu Yuanchong 's translation uses a large number of abbreviations to show his pursuit of aesthetic beauty in meaning, sound, and form.
References
Baker, M. (2000). Towards a methodology for investigating the style of a literary translator. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies, 12(2), 241-266.
Butler, C. (1985). Statistics in linguistics. Blackwell Publishers.
Cai, H. (2019). An investigation into the evolution of paratexts in James Legge’s translation of The Book of Songs. Journal of Xi’an International Studies University, 27(2), 81-85.
Feng, Q. (2008). Translator style within the context of native culture. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Hu, K. (2011). An introduction to corpus translation studies. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
Huang, L. (2014). Corpus-based research on translation style. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
Jiao, Y. (2013). Translations and thematic studies of The Book of Songs in English-speaking countries [Master’s thesis, Shanxi University].
Karlgren, B. (1950). The book of odes. Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities.
Legge, J. (1871). The Shi King, or The book of poetry. Lane, Crawford & Co.
Li, G. (2021). On the English translation and dissemination of Shijing or The Book of Poetry from the perspective of hermeneutics [Doctoral dissertation, Fujian Normal University].
Li, Y. (2014). Deviations in translating vernaculars in Shijing poems and variation of their poetic function — With special reference to the translation of Guanju. Shandong Foreign Language Teaching, 35(1), 91-96.
Lou, B., & Zhao, D. (2023). Stylistic features of six full English translations of Mencius: A corpus-based multidimensional analysis. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, (5), 157-166.
Pound, E. (1954). The Confucian odes. Harvard University Press.
Teng, X., & Wen, J. (2017). A study of the paratexts in James Legge’s three English translations of The Book of Songs. Foreign Language Education, 38(3), 79-85.
Waley, A. (1937). The book of songs – the ancient Chinese classic of poetry. George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Wang, K. (2012). Explorations in corpus translation studies. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.
Wang, L. (2020). Selected classic poetry and the translation of Shijing. The AALITRA Review, (15), 107-113.
Wu, F. (2012). Studies in the English translation of Chinese poetry: James Legge, Herbert A. Giles, Arthur Waley, Ezra Pound. Xueyuan Publishing House.
Zhang, G., & Wen, J. (2021). The dynamicity of the strategies for the translation of classical Chinese poetry: A case study of The Book of Poetry translated by James Legge. Foreign Language and Literature, 37(1), 95-104.
Zhang, S. (1991). The lost horizon---A study of English translation of the Shijing [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin].
Zhu, C., & Li, R. (2023). A corpus-based analysis of translator style in Pound’s English translations of Chinese classics. Foreign Language Education, 44(4), 75-82.
Zuo, Y. (2022). “Literal meaning”—A study of Burnhard Karlgren’s translation of The Book of Songs in 1950. Chinese Translators Journal, 43(5), 118-125.