ArticleTranslation Theories and Skills http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.015
Research on C-E Translation of Gan River: The Lifeline of Jiangxi from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics
Xilin Wen*, Pingping Chen, Jiayi Hu
School of Foreign Languages, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, Jiangxi, China.
*Corresponding author: Xilin Wen
This research was part of the program ‘Ancient Post Roads Connecting the World, Translations Spreading Far and Wide: Research on the Integration of Cross-Temporal Narration and International Communication Strategies for the Translation of Jiangxi's Ancient Post Roads and the Construction of a Transportation Power’ funded by Jiangxi Provincial Education Department (YC 2025-S510).
Published: September 30,2025
Abstract
As a common literary genre, prose conveys emotions through language and meanings via scenery, requiring flexible and realistic expression and profound cultural connotations integrated with natural and humanistic images—making regional prose translation a complex practice balancing cultural transmission and aesthetic reproduction. This study takes the prose Gan River: The Lifeline of Jiangxi by a writer Luo Zheng as its research object. Based on Liu Miqing’s translation aesthetics theory, it conducts a C-E translation study from two major dimensions: the formal system (phonology, vocabulary, syntax) and the non-formal system (imagery, emotion). It aims to explore aesthetic translation strategies for local prose, striving to maximize the reproduction of the original aesthetic charm and provide references for the foreign translation of Chinese rural literature and the international communication of regional culture. The research found that at the formal system level, phonetic beauty can be conveyed through rhythm reconstruction, the cultural connotations of vocabulary can be preserved via the transliteration plus annotation approach, and syntactic rhythm can be restored using parallel structures—all of which achieve aesthetic equiva-lence at the linguistic surface level. At the non-formal system level, the artistic conception the original text can be restored through sensory visualization tech-niques, and the emotional tension of the text can be conveyed by using personified vocabulary and lyrical sentence patterns. The research not only verifies the applicability of translation aesthetics theory in prose translation but also provides a reference for the aesthetic reproduction of similar texts, helping Ganpo culture step onto the world stage with both artistic quality and readability.
Keywords
Prose translation; translation aesthetics; Gan River: The Lifeline; Aesthetic reproduction
References
Hu, Y. H., & Li, W. H. (2022). A study on the Chinese translation of Game of Thrones from the perspective of translation aesthetics. Shanghai Journal of Translators, (6), 85-89.
Liu, M. Q. (1995). An introduction to translation aesthetics. China Translation & Publishing Corporation.
Liu, S. C. (2002). The “emotional rhyme” of prose and its translation. Chinese Translators Journal, (2), 86-87. DOI: CNKI: SUN: ZGFY.0.2002-02-033
Qiu, W. S. (2021). Cognitive construal and translation of prose discourse rhythm. Journal of Xi’an International Studies University, 29(3), 93-97. DOI: 10.16362/j.cnki.cn61-1457/h.2021.03.019
Sui, R. Y., & Li, F. P. (2007). A preliminary study on translation aesthetics. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, (11), 54-57.
Yuan, Y., & Tu, G. Y. (2021). A cognitive poetic study on the translation of imagery in Zhu Ziqing’s prose. Foreign Language Research, 38(2), 90-94. DOI: 10.13978/j.cnki.wyyj.2021.02.014
Zhang, B. H. (2010). The perception, transmission and creation of beauty: A study on prose translation with Liu Shicong’s English version of The Peanut as an example. Journal of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, 21(3), 15-20.
Zhao, X. M. (1998). A preliminary study on Chinese translation aesthetics. Foreign Languages in Fujian, (2), 36-39+43.
How to cite this paper
Research on C-E Translation of Gan River: The Lifeline of Jiangxi from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics
How to cite this paper: Xilin Wen, Pingping Chen, Jiayi Hu. (2025). Research on C-E Translation of Gan River: The Lifeline of Jiangxi from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 1(2), 242-246.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.015