Liang, Shiqiu

Liang Shiqiu übersetzt William Shakespeare.
Liang Shiqiu was the first Chinese who translated the complete plays of William Shakespeare in the vernacular Chinese prose style, except that he also included rhymed couplets in his translation.
Er schreibt 1952 : "My translations were entirely in prose style. To be honest, I was not able to take the rhythms of Shakespeare's poetry into account. I really felt that it was already difficult enough if I was able to express the full and accurate meaning of the original. I was somewhat enlightened by Percy Simpson's Shakespeare's punctuation. It seems that Shakespeare did not use punctuation marks in the standard way but had a system of his own. His aim was to guide his actors and actresses in the recitation of their lines and enable them to reproduce these lines with the right cadence. I decided, therefore, to do my best in my translations to keep Shakespeare's original puncuation system intact. The consequence is that with every line in the original text there will be a line of translation ; in other words, I have taken sentences as my translation units. Of course, it will not be a literal translation, for word-for-word translation will result in total incomprehensibility ; nor will it be a mere translation of meaning, for such a translation, eloquent and fluent as it is, will be too far removed from the tone and the rhythm of the original. I am not sure if the sentence-for-sentence approach I have adopted will be able to retain more or less the original rhythmic pattern."
Bai Liping : Liang tries to present Shakespeare seriously and meticulously. In order to fully understand Shakespeare, he took great pains to obtain all the available reference books on Shakespeare. When he translated, he supplied annotations to help readers understand the Bard. Therefore, Liang not only criticizes, but also provides constructive solutions ; he not only preaches, but also acts - in this sense, he is a translator with the virtues of both 'de' and 'xing'. Before his version of each play, there is a detailed introduction to the play's historical background, the source of its story, records of its various performances. Sometimes they also include Liang's own commentaries. The foreword gives a list of his translation principles, but this does not contain a reference to performance on the stage. He thinks that plays, including Shakespeare's, can exist independently of the stage, and can be either suitable or unsuitable for the stage.

Liang Shiqiu took Irving Babbitt's course on 'Literary criticism after the sixteenth century'. Liang decided to take the course not because he admired the renowned teacher but because he intended to challenge him. At first Liang found Babbitt's opinions hard to accept as they were completely different from his own, but after reading Babbitt's books and attending his lectures, Liang's opinions changed dramatically. 'From and extreme romanticist', he later recalls (1957), 'I changed to a stance which is more or less close to classicism'.

Liang, Shiqiu. Bailun yu lan man zhu yi [ID D26464].
Liang schreibt : "Byron represents an extremist rebellious spirit. Let's look at his portrait : dishevelled curly hair ; brilliant eyes looking as if they could penetrage all the vanity of life ; head held high, back straight, as if ready to fight the world. Don't they vividly embody his rebellious spirit ?"

Mei Guangdi is Instructor of Chinese at Harvard University.
After reading Irving Babbitt's works, Mei came to think of Babbitt as a modern saint, and this fired his determination to become one of Babbitt's students.

Liang, Shiqiu. Luosu lun nü zi jiao yu [ID D28832].
Irving Babbitt devoted much effort to criticizing Rousseau, viewing him as the precursor of an excessive form of romanticism. After embracing much of Babbitt's thought, Liang Shiqiu began a reassessment of Rousseau, whom he previously had admired greatly.
Liang held that the preponderance of Rousseau's influence was pernicious. The only aspect of Rousseau's writings in which Liang saw any merit at all was Book V of Emile [ID D20472]. Liang argued that 'there was nothing correct in the part in which Rousseau talked about the education of boys, but his discussion on women's education was surely accurate. According to Liang, Book V was thorough, but more importantly, in acknowledging differences between men and women, it reflected the profound differences between men and women, it reflected the profound differences that exist among human beings in general, not only between the two sexes but also among different man and among different women. Since the interests and aptitudes of individuals and groups very, Liang held, it is a fitting reflection of human character that differences among those to be taught be accommodated by differing forms of education.

Liang, Shiqiu. Xian dai Zhongguo wen xue zhi lang man de qu shi [ID D28851].
"The most obvious way in which China is invaded by foreign literature is through the translation of foreign works. Translation is a mainstay of the New literature movement. But the translated literature always exhibits romantic characteristics – translators do not adopt a rational and discriminating attitude towards foreign works to be translated, and their selection is not guided by principle or by a certain purpose but by whim. They try to translate whatever strikes their fancy, and as a result foreign works of the third or fourth rank have been introduced into China and cherished as a most valuable treasure and have been imitated enthusiastically."
Liang applied key insights of Irving Babbitt's to an analysis of the prevalent direction of early twentieth-century Chinese literature. Expressing views that are plainly traceable to Babbitt, Liang took sharp issue with certain romantic tendencies that had come to the fore in China as part of the 'New literature movement', among them an impressionism that called for a 'return to nature' and an uncritical extolling of foreignness and originality for their own sage. In what would become one of his most persistent themes, Liang stressed that, rather than self-indulgence, great literature should express what he termed 'universal human nature'.

Liang, Shiqiu. Bailun yu lang man zhu yi [ID D28833].
Liang lauded Rousseau as 'the pioneer of the French revolution' and 'the ancestor of the romantic movement in the whole of Europe'. The mission of Rousseau, Liang declared, was to 'get rid of the fetters on the human spirit and to help people acquire the freedom to develop themselves without restraint'.
He also praised Byron, saying that his ideas represented 'universal human liberal thought' and that his poems symbolized 'the holiest earth-shaking outcry of humankind'. He added that no romantic poet could surpass Byron in poetic self-expression and that, in spirit, Byron was 'equal to Goethe'.

Liang, Shiqiu. Wen xue pi ping bian [ID D28852].
"The circumstances and attitudes of humans very, but human nature is universal, and the quality of literature is immutable. Therefore great literary works can survive the test of time and space. The Iliad is still read and Shakespeare's plays are still performed, because universal human nature is the basis of all great works – thus the quality of literary works, regardless of the time of composition or the country of origin, can be evaluated according to a stable standard."

Liang, Shiqiu. Fan yi jia [ID D28837].
"At present, the first-class translators are really audacious. They can translate without a dictionary and often make up for this deficiency by producing many new meanings. When they come across a foreign book - just like a blind cat meets a dead mouse - and feel its name interesting, they can immediately start to work. First, they take out several chapters, change them into a book and then translate page by page. In this way, one foreign book can be translated into at least two Chinese books. If their Chinese is not fluent, they say this is 'literal translation' ; if the foreign language has been seriously mistranslated, they may say, 'negligence is unavoidable as it is done in haste'. At least, they can even say, 'it is the fault of typesetters'.

Liang, Shiqiu. Wang'erde de wei mei zhu yi [ID D27721].
Liang appraised Oscar Wilde, who had previously been his favorite writer, from a new perspective. He maintained that Wilde pursued 'absolute independence of the arts', in which the latter not only were isolated from the ordinary audience, but were also divorced from 'universal and common human nature'. This essay indicates that Liang had divorced himself from romanticism.

[Shakespeare, William]. Weinisi shang ren. Gu Zhongyi yi ; Liang Shiqiu jiao. [ID D23505].
Liang Shiqiu schreibt im Vorwort : "Among all the evaluations of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, I thought the essay written by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) from Germany was of the greatest profundity. He was a poet and sympathizer of revolution and as well as a Jew; therefore, his viewpoint of the play is worth introducing."

Brief von Hu Shi an Liang Shiqiu über die Übersetzung von William Shakespeare.
Er schreibt : "Dear Shiqiu, I have received both of your letters, and officially assumed the post in the Translation Committee. The list [Ye] Gongchao has been preparing is almost ready. He has not yet handed it to me as the names of the various editions have yet to be filled in. I discussed the matter with I.A. Richards recently and with Zhimo in Shanghai. The idea is to invite [Wen] Yiduo, [Chen] Tongbo, [Xu] Zhimo, [Ye] Gongchao and you to work out a plan for the translation of the complete works of Shakespeare. We hope that a standard version can be made available within five or ten years' time. Do discuss the matter with Yiduo.
The fundamental problem is to decide on the type of language we should use to translate Shakespeare. My suggestion is to ask Yiduo and Zhimo to try verse, while Dongbo and you try prose. After these experiments we could then decide whether to use prose throughout or both prose and verse.
You'll be paid at the highest rates. This kind of books usually doesn't sell too badly and we may be able to retain the copyright for future reprints.
I invite comments from you and Yiduo. Please consult Jinfu and Taimou as well. I have already written to Zhimo and Dongbe.
On the fifth of January I'll be leaving Peking and going south on the Tientsin-Pu-kou train. I have a meeting on the ninth. In the middle of the month I should be able to travel north again. If I can manage to find enough money for the trip, I'll come to pay you a visit—just to dispell the widespread belief that Tsingtao [Qingdao] is inaccessible."

[Strindberg, August]. Jie hun ji. Liang Shiqiu yi. [ID D14325].
Liang's translation is based on Thomas Seltzer's English version. The original has nineteen short stories, of which Liang chose to translate nine. Liang did not wholly agree with Strindberg, particularly not with his antipathy towards women, yet he thought that much that Strindberg revealed about marriage was real. People should get rid of escapist, romantic expectations of marriage and courageously assume their responsibilities.

[Eliot, George]. Zhi gong Ma'nan zhuan. Liang Shiqiu yi. [ID D14330].
In the preface Liang said : "Eliot does not write novels only to entertain people, but completely devotes herself to very book she writes".
In the edition Taipei : Jiu ge, 1988 he writes : "In the story, there are rich people as well as hard-working laborers, but its main point is not to describe the class conflict, but to elaborate human nature. This is an English novel written more than 120 years ago, and this is an old translation done more than 50 years ago. Now that the novel is offered to the readers again, it has lost none of its significance, as human nature is universal and eternal."
Bai Liping : Liang chose to translate Silas Marner partly because he thought the novel reflected the moral seriousness of the British nationality. Liang believed that in this respect British nationality was different from that of southern Europe ; the latter in his view, tended toward frivolousness. Liang observed that there were few depictions of lewdness in Silas Marner. Only one sentence was used to narrate how a pair of lovers move from getting acquainted to engaging in physical love. "If the writer of this novel had been a Frenchman", he wrote, "this part of the story probably would have covered several chapters and would have been told in great detail."

Liang, Shiqiu. [The heritage of literature]. [ID D28854].
Liang said, that it was wrong to conclude that Shakespeare was in favor of the bourgeoisie because of some contemptuous statements by aristocrats about the common people in Shakespeare's plays. He argued that, since there were many expressions of sympathy for poor people in Shakespeare's works, it would be just as easy to prove that Shakespeare is a 'proletarian writer'.

Liang, Shiqiu. Xian dai Zhongguo wen xue zhi lang man de qu shi. In : Chen bao fu juan ; March 25, 27, 29, 31 (1926). In : Lu Xun Liang Shiqiu lun zhan shi lu [ID D28834]. [The romantic tendency of modern Chinese literature]. [Erwähnung von Irving Babbitt].
梁实秋. 现代中国文学之浪漫的趋势

[Sheridan, Richard Brinsley]. Zao yao xue xiao. Wu Guangjian yi ; Liang Shiqiu jiao bing xu. (Shanghai : Xin yue shu dian, 1929). Übersetzung von Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The school for scandal : a comedy. (London : Printed for F. Newbury, 1773). [Erstaufführung London 1773].
造謠學校

[Shakespeare, William]. Weinisi shang ren. Gu Zhongyi yi ; Liang Shiqiu jiao. (Shanghai : Xin yue shu dian, 1930). Übersetzung von Shakespeare, William. The excellent history of the merchant of Venice : with the extreme cruelty of Shylocke the lew towards the saide merchant, in cutting a iust pound of his flesh ; and the obtaining of Portia, by the choyse of three caskets. (London : Printed by J. Roberts, 1600). [Geschrieben 1596].
威尼斯商人

[Eliot, George]. Zhi gong Ma'nan chuan. Aoli'aite zhu ; Liang Shiqiu yi. (Shanghai : Xin yue shu dian, 1932). Übersetzung von Eliot, George. Silas Marner : the weaver of Raveloe. (Edinburgh : W. Blackwood, 1861).
織工馬南傳

Liang, Shiqiu. Wen xue yi chan. In : Yi shi bao, wen xue zhou kan ; no 51, Nov. 18 (Tianjin 1933). In : Lu Xun Liang Shiqiu lun zhan shi lu [ID D28834]. [The heritage of literature]. [Erwähnung von William Shakespeare].
文学遗产

[Boswell, James]. Yuehansun. Zhanmushi Baosiwei'er zhuo zhe ; Liang Shiqiu zhu bian. (Shanghai : Guo li bian yi guan, 1934). Übersetzung von Boswell, James. The life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. : comprehending an account of his studies and numerous works, in chronological order : a series of his epistolary correspondence and conversations with many eminent persons : and various original pieces of his composition, never before published : the whole exhibiting a view of literature and literary men in Great-Britain, for near half a century, during which he flourished : in two volumes. (London : Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, 1791).
約翰生

[Barrie, J.M.]. Pan Bide. Liang Shiqiu yi. (Shanghai : Shang wu yin shu guan, 1935). (Wan you wen ku. Han yi shi jie ming zhu). Übersetzung von Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan and Wendy. (London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1911).
潘彼得