Lingnan University Digital Commons @ Lingnan University Theses & Dissertations Department of Translation 3-9-2015 Philology, anthropology and poetry in Arthur Waley's translation of the Shijing Qingyang LIN Follow this and additional works at:http://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd Part of theApplied Linguistics Commons, and theTranslation Studies Commons Recommended Citation Lin, Q. (2015). Philology, anthropology and poetry in Arthur Waley's translation of the Shijing (Master's thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/tran_etd/15 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Translation at Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. Terms of Use The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. PHILOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POETRY IN ARTHUR WALEY’S TRANSLATION OF THE SHIJING LIN QINGYANG MPHIL LINGNAN UNIVERSITY 2015 PHILOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POETRY IN ARTHUR WALEY’S TRANSLATION OF THE SHIJING by LIN Qingyang A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Translation Lingnan University 2015 ABSTRACT Philology, Anthropology and Poetry in Arthur Waley’s Translation of the Shijing by LIN Qingyang Master of Philosophy The topic of my thesis is Arthur Waley and his translation of the Shijing, or The Book of Songs (1937), as Waley entitled it. The Book of Songs is especially noted for its philological ingenuity, anthropological insight and poetic appeal; during my preliminary research I discovered that there exists an interesting interplay between these three aspects of this translation. In this thesis, I hope to examine the textual and thematic hermeneutics of The Book of Songs. Waley did not read the Shijing as a scriptural text inscribed with sagely intention and authority; rather, he returned it to its folkloric origin, presenting the Shijing as an anthropological document of the lives of ancient Chinese people, an imaginative expression of the desires, beliefs and values of a primitive society, and a vivid mimesis of ancient life. Waley’s philological decisions were underpinned by this general interpretive orientation, informed by his understanding of the anthropological significance of the Shijing and guided by an attentive concern for poetic cohesion. The anthropological and poetic aspects were mutually implicated. The Book of Songs displays a keen interest in the common people, and Waley’s knowledge and insight in comparative anthropology enabled the Western reader to hear in this exotic text distant echoes from their own traditions. These anthropological underpinnings help to articulate and enrich the poetics of The Book of Songs. Waley’s overall design and the poetic language he employed bring forth these anthropological aspects in a poetic manner. The “folk” elements in the Shijing were foregrounded in The Book of Songs and deemed to be aesthetically interesting. The style and voice that Waley developed in his translation communicate the naive appeal of a folk aesthetic, and convey the compositional features and modes of experience of the “primitive” imagination. In Waley’s translation, the remote, difficult text of the Shijing is transformed into natural, evocative English poetry, and the philological, anthropological and poetic aspects of The Book of Songs coalesce into a Chinese aesthetic that is fresh and spontaneous, enjoying a pristine intimacy with Nature. DECLARATION Id ecltahrateth iissa no rigwionrabkla sperdi maornmi ylo yw n reseaanrIdcw ha,r rtahnaatltc l i taotfip ornesvr ieosuespa urbclhi,os rh ed unpublhiasvbheee eddn,u layc knowledged. r�------- -L--��-'- '1 (LiQni ngyang) Datef:t- l) .2. IoF /M<..t. CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL OF THESIS PHILOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POETRY IN ARTHUR WALEY'S TRANSLATION OF THE SHIJING by LIN Qingyang Master of Philosophy Panel of Examiners '(Chairman) � � � Professor Lee Hung Kai (External Member) Professor Poon Hon Kwong Joseph (Internal Member) Professor Chan Tak Hung Leo (Internal Member) Professor Lung Chief Supervisor: Professor Chan Tak Hung Leo Co-supervisor: Professor Sun Yifeng Approved for the Senate: �� Prof. Shalendra Sharma Chairman, Postgraduate Studies Committee 0 9 MAR 2015 Date Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... ii Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One. Waley’s Understanding of the Shijing and his Interpretive Approach ............................. 16 1.1 Waley’s early encounters with the Shijing and the inception of The Book of Songs................... 16 1.2 The “historical” approach and The Book of Songs, with reference to The Way and Its Power and The Analects of Confucius ...................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter Two. ............................................................................................................................................... 57 The Multiple Roles of the Translator: Waley as a Philologist, Anthropologist and Poet ..................... 57 2.1 Waley as a philologist ................................................................................................................... 57 2.1.1 Waley and philology ......................................................................................................... 57 2.1.2 Philology in The Book of Songs .......................................................................................... 60 2.1.3 Karlgren and Waley, parts and wholes ............................................................................ 65 2.2 Waley as an anthropologist .......................................................................................................... 72 2.2.1 Waley and anthropology .................................................................................................. 72 2.2.2 Marcel Granet’s Festivals and Songs of Ancient China ........................................................ 76 2.2.3 Anthropology in The Book of Songs .................................................................................. 79 2.3 Waley as a poet ............................................................................................................................. 87 2.3.1 Considerations of English translations of Chinese poetry before Waley: Davis, Legge, Giles and Pound ............................................................................................................ 88 2.3.2 Method and style in Waley’s translation: from Chinese Poems (1916) to The Book of Songs (1937) ...............................................................................................................................106 Chapter Three. Philology, Anthropology and Poetry – the Interplay ..................................................144 3.1 Philology and Anthropology .....................................................................................................144 3.2 Philology and Poetry ..................................................................................................................152 3.3 Anthropology and Poetry ..........................................................................................................159 3.3.1 Imagery ............................................................................................................................159 3.3.2 Compositional features ..................................................................................................179 3.3.3 Mimesis of ancient life ...................................................................................................198 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................201 Works Cited ...............................................................................................................................................207 i Acknowledgements Most of all, I am deeply grateful for the guidance and support of my two supervisors – Professor Leo Chan and Professor Sun Yifeng. From them I receive many insights and timely feedbacks, and the wish to bring no disgrace on their standards of scholarship sustains the perpetuation of my work. Professor Chan is an exceptionally patient and attentive reader of my every draft; I am especially appreciative of the humane intellectual sympathy he showed when reading these immature writings of mine, and his gentle yet no less incisive ways of alluding to inconsistencies and neglected perspectives, which would have eluded me from my own circumscribed point of view. Professor Sun has shown his kind concern for every stage of my study; through pondering over his remarks I clarify my thoughts, recognize possible room for better refinement of perception and depth of understanding on my topic and discipline. I hope also to thank the other teachers and fellow students in our department, who made the Department of Translation in Lingnan such a pleasant place for study. I appreciate especially Professor Chang Nam-fung’s cordial good humour and minute critical observations. Professor Charles Kwong inspires me with his broad humanistic vision. Professor Shan Te-Hsing, visiting Professor in the Faculty of Arts, has also been very kind in showing his interest about my study. Dr. Red Chan, Dr. Dorothy Wong, Dr. Cheung Yu-kit have kindly given me their comments on my thesis topic. Ms. Yang Yichen, my fellow postgraduate student, has taught me the value of a congenial intellectual friendship. During a conference in Norwich last summer, I was very glad to have the pleasant company of Professor Rachel Lung, Dr. Roberta Raine and Dr. Tong Man, in addition to that of Professor Chan and Professor Chang. I was also fortunate enough to meet in Norwich Professor Joseph Allen, editor of the 1996 edition of the Songs. Professor Allen shared with me his experience – sinological and literary – of Waley’s works, and has not only brought me better knowledge, but also made the meeting such a memorable delight. I am also very grateful for my thesis examiners, Professor Rachel Lung of Lingnan University, and Professor Joseph Poon of Hong Kong University. Their generous goodwill I deeply cherish, and the insights and advice they gave guided me onto future enquiries. I appreciate the patient help of Inter-Library Loan staffs at Lingnan University, and the kind assistance of archivists in the Archive Centre at King’s College Cambridge, the Special Collections at the University of Reading, and the British Library. My parents’ support, understanding and true liberality of mind make it possible for me to pursue the scholarly path. My gratitude for them, though somewhat inarticulate, is rooted in the deep folds of life. ii Introduction One day in 1945, the editors in George Allen and Unwin Ltd. received a request from the British Council seeking permission to re-print some materials from one of their published books. The piece they requested is written by Arthur Waley, and has, as the letter goes, the title “She King or Book of Oder”. The editors in George Allen and Unwin were perplexed; they wrote a letter of enquiry to the author of the piece: “We have not been able to trace this amongst any of the poems we publish for you and we shall be grateful if you will tell us in which of your books it is contained.” “The British Council”, replied Waley in his usual tone of poise, “means The Book of Songs.”1 It can be gathered from this incident how very unfamiliar China still was in the minds of some Europeans, and one is reminded of David Hawkes’s comparison, that “the accepted picture of Ancient China was as remote from reality as Archbishop Usser’s view of world history.” (Hawkes 1989: 246) Yet while the century turned a change was taking place, however slow and imperceptible. “A new picture” gradually emerged during the course of the century, “filled in bit by bit by the labours of the archaeologist, the palaeographer, the etymologist, the textual critic, and a host of others.”(Hawkes 1989: 246) China in the eyes of the West ceased 1 Letters to and from Arthur Waley (dated 7 Nov. 1945 and 8 Nov. 1945, AUC 242/10), in Records of George Allen & Unwin Ltd., The Archive of British Publishing and Printing, University of Reading. 1