 |
customer@davidpublishing.com |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
A Symmetry Theory Approach to Rhythm Fidelity in Translating Free Verse
JIN Junyi, DENG Wensheng, GUO Tongcan, WANG Guanzhi, QUAN Yucheng, XIAO Qinyu, TUNUKE Tailaiwu, WANG Xiaoyi
Full-Text PDF
XML 5 Views
DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2026.06.005
Beijing Institute of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
This study proposes a Symmetry Theory-based framework to address rhythm fidelity in bidirectional English-Chinese free verse translation. Recognizing that existing research predominantly focuses on metrical poetry, single translation directions, or isolated poetic elements, the paper argues that rhythm constitutes the core carrier of theme, emotion, and aesthetics in free verse (FV) and should therefore be prioritized as the primary criterion for translation evaluation. Drawing on four interrelated dimensions of Symmetry Theory—structural, functional, dynamic, and relative symmetry—the framework establishes a systematic hierarchy in which rhythm fidelity precedes imagery correspondence and conditional rhyme equivalence. Structural symmetry governs the matching of rhythmic units between source and target texts, mapping English stress groups to Chinese two-character units and vice versa. Functional symmetry ensures equivalent emotional and thematic transmission rather than rigid formal imitation. Dynamic symmetry preserves the evolving rhythmic vitality across the poetic text, while relative symmetry reconciles fundamental prosodic differences between the stress-timed English and tone-timed Chinese systems. Through bidirectional case analyses spanning lyrical, narrative, imagist, and philosophical free verse genres—including works by Whitman, Eliot, Xu Zhimo, and Haiai—the study demonstrates that the weight of each symmetry dimension should be dynamically adjusted according to poetic genre. The framework offers operable criteria for translation practice and fills a critical gap in systematic theoretical guidance for free verse translation.
free verse translation, rhythm fidelity, Symmetry Theory, English-Chinese poetry, prosodic symmetry, functional equivalence
Abraham, N. (1995). Rhythm and meaning in poetry. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Ai, Q. (1979). Selected Poems of Ai Qing. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Aristotle. (1996). Poetics. (S. Halliwell, Trans.). Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Attridge, D. (1995). The rhythms of English poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Bassnett, S. (2015). Translation and cultural identity. The Translator, 21(3), 157-174.
Benjamin, W. (1968). Illuminations. (H. Zohn, Trans.; H. Arendt, Ed.). New York: Schocken Books.
Bian, Z. L. (2009). Merits and demerits of translation for modern Chinese poetry. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press.
Birch, C. (Ed.). (1992). Anthology of Chinese literature. New York: Grove Press.
Connynham, E. (2000). On Leaving Cambridge Again (Version 6). In An Anthology of Translations: Classical Chinese Literature (Vol. 1, p. 63). Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.
Curie, P. (1894). On the symmetry of physical phenomena. Journal de Physique, 3(5), 39-41.
Dai, W. S. (1928). A lane in the rain. The Short Story Monthly, 19(8), 34.
Dai, W. S. (1981). Collected Poems of Dai Wangshu. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Eliot, T. S. (1915). The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Chicago: Poetry Magazine.
Eliot, T. S. (1922). The waste land. New York: Boni & Liveright.
Feng, S. L. (2009). Prosody, morphology and syntax in Chinese (Rev. ed.). Beijing: Peking UP.
Feng, S. L. (2019). Tonal rhythm in classical and modern Chinese poetry. Prosody Studies, 14, 28-41.
Finch, A. (1993). The ghost of meter: Culture and prosody in American free verse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Fu, L. (2005). Collected essays on translation. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Gleitman, L. R., Gleitman, H., Miller, C., & Ostrin, R. (1996). Similar, and similar concepts. Cognition, 58(3), 321-376.
Gross, H. (1964). Sound and form in modern poetry. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Gu, Z. K. (2003). Plural complementary translation theories. Beijing: Peking UP.
Guo, M. R. (1920). Phoenix nirvana. Shanghai: Creation Society Press.
Guo, M. R. (1982). Complete Works of Guo Moruo Literary Series (Vol. 1). Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Haizi. (2009). Selected Poems of Haizi. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Hartman, C. (1996). Free verse: An essay on prosody. Middletown: Wesleyan UP.
Hsu, K. Y. (1989). The poetry of Xu Zhimo. Hong Kong: Chinese UP.
Hu, S. (1921). Orchid grass. Shanghai: Commercial Press.
Hu, S. (1998). Collected Works of Hu Shi (Vol. 2). Beijing: Peking University Press.
Jakobson, R. (1960). Closing statement: Linguistics and poetics. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.), Style in language (pp. 350-377). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Jakobson, R. (1975). Verbal art, verbal sign, verbal time. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Li, Z. B. (2021). Rhythm and emotion in modern Chinese free verse. Literary Review, 64(3), 18-25.
Li, Z. B. (2022a). The “cluster” issue of rhythm in Chinese poetry. Contemporary Chinese Literature Studies, 4(2), 69-83.
Li, Z. B. (2022b). Reflections on Chinese modern prosody from a global perspective. Social Sciences in China, 43(4), 145-162.
Meschonnic, H. (1982). Rhythme et langage. Paris: Gallimard.
Murphy, D. (2019). Facing the ocean, spring warms flowers open. In J. Laughlin (Ed.), The Big Red Book of Modern Chinese Literature (pp. 465-466). New York: W.W. Norton.
Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward a science of translating. Leiden: Brill.
Nida, E. A. (2001). Language, culture, and translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
Plath, S. (1962). Daddy. New York: Harper & Row.
Pound, E. (1913). In a station of the metro. Poetry, 2(1), 27.
Sidney, P. (1973). An apology for poetry. S. Shepherd, (Ed.). London: Nelson.
Thomas, D. (1951). Do not go gentle into that good night. London: J. M. Dent & Sons.
Tsur, R. (2008). Cognitive poetics: An introduction. London: Routledge.
Wang, D. F. (2014). Recovering lost rhythm by matching Chinese pauses with English feet: Metrical translatability evidenced by retranslating The Isles of Greece. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 46(6), 931.
Wang, D. F. (2021). Prosodic adaptation in English-Chinese poetry translation. Foreign Language World, 40(2), 30-37.
Wang, D. F. (2022). New strategies for free verse rhythm translation. Foreign Languages and Teaching, 54(5), 22-29.
Wang, L. (1982). Chinese prosody. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.
Weyl, H. (1952). Symmetry. Princeton: Princeton UP.
Whitman, W. (1855). Leaves of grass. Brooklyn: Self-Published.
Xu, Y. C. (2000). Art of translation. Beijing: Commercial Press.
Xu, Y. C. (2007). Xu Yuanchong’s translations of Chinese poetry. Beijing: Dolphin Press.
Xu, Z. M. (2006). Collected Poems of Xu Zhimo. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Yang, X. Y., & Yang, G. (2010). Modern Chinese poetry in English translation. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
Yuan, K. C. (1995). Selected modern Chinese poems. Taipei: National Taiwan UP.
Zhao, Y. R. (1968). The prosody of spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Zhu, G. Q. (1987a). On poetry and art. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House.
Zhu, G. Q. (1987b). On Poetry. Beijing: Joint Publishing Company.