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Article published In: Target
Vol. 36:3 (2024) ► pp.421–444

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Crossing boundaries in an age of post-translation studies

Die Chinesische Flöte

ORCiD logo with link | Sichuan University
Published online: 27 September 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/target.22025.pan
Abstract
The cycle of symphonic songs Das Lied von der Erde was based on Die Chinesische Flöte, a German version of classical Chinese poems. As a result, Die Chinesische Flöte crossed the boundary between literature and music, encompassing intralingual, interlingual, and intersemiotic translations. While comparative textual analysis reveals that these two works made changes to the original Chinese texts, intersemiotic translation illustrates that the borders between verbal texts and nonverbal works are fluid. This post-translation study traces the translation context of Das Lied, maps Die Chinesische Flöte’s transitions between literary and musical polysystems, and traces Das Lied’s afterlife in the creation of new artworks. It concludes that poetry, music, and other art forms can mutually translate, complement, and become afterlives of one another.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Comparative analysis of Die Chinesische Flöte
    • 2.1Comparative analysis of interlingual and intralingual translations
    • 2.2Comparative analysis of intersemiotic translation
  • 3.Post-translation studies of Die Chinesische Flöte and Das Lied von der Erde
    • 3.1Die Chinesische Flöte’s resonance with Mahler
    • 3.2Die Chinesische Flöte crosses the boundary between two polysystems
    • 3.3Das Lied von der Erde and its afterlife
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • Note
  • References
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