How English Can Not Translate the Beauty of Chinese Poems

Cultural Foundation- Chinese Poems- Free Thesis
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Cultural Foundation - Chinese Poems- Free Thesis
Several Chinese poets have explained the suffering that people went through during ‘’An Lushan Rebellion’’ where the people rejected Tang dynasty. Sorrow filled the land as the level of corruption improved, high death rates among the males, and poverty and hunger strike the land. The suffering of the people is evident in the Wangwei, Li Po, and Tu Fu poems. Therefore, the work will cover the social and political protest against the tyranny of the Tang dynasty and how the translation of Chinese poems to English is ineffective in delivering the meaning of the original poem.
Tu Fu
Tu Fu describes how the Ch’ang-an ministers came to demand taxes from the unfortunate people who only depend on agriculture as their source of income. In the poem Tu Fu, the author states that ‘’clerks are out demanding taxes. Taxes! How could they pay taxes?’’ The implication of the statement is that even those with low income were forced to pay large amounts of taxes. Further, the poet postulates that instead of the area chiefs resisting the act, they gave the ministers gifts as a sign of appreciation to avoid the harsh punishment that could be enforced on the villagers. Further, he explains that male adults were forced to go to war where most of them died, leaving their children orphans and their wives widows. The author gives an instance of a woman who had three sons who were taken to be guarded, but ended up in the war and died. The woman is tormented by the memories of her children as she faces difficulty in providing for her grandchildren that were left as orphans.
Tu Fu describes that irrespective of the good harvest that the people sometimes experience, children still died of hunger. The children were left with the elderly who were unable to support them after the death of their parents. The elderly worked on wheat farms with harsh conditions prone to deadly diseases (Liu & Lo, 1975). The poet gives an example of an old man who had the responsibility of providing to his grandchildren after their parents died in the war. Unfortunately, the simple man fell sick and started suffering since he could not afford the drugs. The instance shows how the government oppressed the unfortunate people in the community which is a sign of social injustice. The unfortunate could not even afford drugs during the regime.
Also, the author explains that the village was full of sorrow with cries everywhere. Everybody complained about the system of the government, but there was nothing they could do. Nobody complained and any attempt to do so could result in death. Therefore, most people sang songs of sorrow to soothe their pain, hoping that the government could hear their plea. The poet describes that seasons come and go, but everything remained the same; everyday sorrow could be experienced in every part of the village.
Li Po
Li Po ironically describes the regime. He states that the valley is tranquil, but the wildness of the natural world interferes with the calmness of the landscape. All the same, he describes how people suffer from cold Winter and Spring but when Autumn arri...