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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 69:1 (2023) ► pp.1–19

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English translation of Chinese calligraphic aesthetics

 | BUN-HKBU United International College
Published online: 14 February 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00305.son
Abstract
Chinese calligraphy, which distinctively represents traditional Chinese culture, contains many culture-specific aesthetic terms that pose a translation challenge requiring creative cross-cultural strategies. This study presents several English translations for four key Chinese aesthetic terms on calligraphy, namely shi 勢 (roughly translated as “vital force” or “energy”), yun 韻 (once translated as “rhythmic life” or “life movement”), fei bai 飛白 (“flying white” or “hollow strokes”) and jibai-danghei 計白當黑 (literally: treating white areas like black ink). It examines their effectiveness in facilitating cross-cultural understanding and maximizing cultural authenticity. This article points out that most of these terms have been adequately contextualized in English over the past century, even though some are rendered in English using terms borrowed from Western art history. This shows how cultural translation, the theoretical basis of this study, comes into play when dealing with Chinese aesthetic terms in calligraphy.
Résumé
La calligraphie chinoise représente distinctement la culture traditionnelle chinoise et contient de nombreux termes esthétiques spécifiques à la culture qui posent un défi de traduction nécessitant des stratégies interculturelles créatives. Cette étude présente plusieurs traductions anglaises de quatre des termes chinois les plus importants dans l’esthétique de la calligraphie, à savoir shi 勢 (lit., “force vitale” ou “énergie”), yun 韻 (autrefois traduit par “vie rythmique” ou “mouvement de la vie”), fei bai 飛白 (litt, “blanc volant” ou “traits creux”) et jibai-danghei 計白當黑 (lit., “traiter les zones blanches comme de l’encre noire”). En examinant l’efficacité des traductions pour faciliter la compréhension interculturelle et rendre l’authenticité culturelle de manière optimale, cet article soutient qu’ au cours du siècle dernier la plupart de ces termes ont été adéquatement contextualisés en anglais, même si certains ont été rendus à l’aide de termes empruntés à l’histoire de l’art occidental. Cet article montre les façons dont la traduction culturelle, la base théorique de cette étude, entre en jeu dans le traitement des termes esthétiques chinois en calligraphie.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature Review
  • Methodology
  • Theoretical Framework: Cultural Translation
  • Re-contextualizing Aesthetic Terms: Challenges and Solutions
    • Shu fa or “calligraphy”?
    • Yi or “expressionism”? Bi mo or “brushstroke”?
    • What are qi and fei bai?
  • Conclusion
  • References
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