Study of English Translations of Peach Blossom Spring under the Guidance of the "Six Criteria" of Literary Translation Criticism: Taking James Robert Hightower’s Translations as an Example

Abstract

Peach Blossom Spring, a prose classic by Tao Yuanming of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is a foundational work of ancient Chinese utopian literature and a symbol of an ideal society in Chinese culture. The English translation of Peach Blossom Spring included in The Poetry of T'ao Ch'ien, translated by the American sinologist James Robert Hightower, laid a significant foundation for the English-speaking world's understanding of Tao Yuanming's literature and thought. This paper employs the "Six Criteria for Literary Translation Criticism" proposed by Professor Wang Hongyin as its theoretical framework to conduct a systematic critical analysis of Hightower's translation. By examining its practical strategies in aspects such as the accuracy and fluency of language conversion, the conveyance of ideological connotations, the handling of cultural imagery, the reproduction of stylistic features, and the realization of aesthetic effects, this study not only helps to comprehensively reveal the academic value and translational characteristics of Hightower's version but also tests the applicability and explanatory power of this critical system in the study of classical Chinese literature translation. Thereby, it provides useful references for deepening the theoretical exploration and practical pathways of translating Chinese classics into foreign languages.