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Translation of Allusions in Fortress Besieged

The wide application of Chinese and foreign allusions is a big feature of QIAN Zhong-shu’s only novel and masterpiece Fortress Besieged, which was first published in 1947. The paper makes an attempt to categorize and analyze the strategies in translating allusions adopted by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao in the only English version. The strategies include literal translation, literal translation plus endnote, literal translation plus explanation added in the text, interpretation of the implied meaning plus endnote, and interpretation of the implied meaning in the text. In particular, the strategy of literal translation plus endnote is mostly adopted. This is indicative of the translators’ wish to be as faithful as possible to the source text. What’s more, the literal translation strategy and use of endnotes is of a big help to communicate the Chinese culture to foreigners.


Introduction
QIAN Zhong-shu ranks among the most important writers and literary critics in the 20th-century Chinese literature field. His masterpiece and only novel of his whole life Wei Cheng (1991), with the English translation of Fortress Besieged, which was published in the year of 1980 by Indiana University Press, enjoys high reputation home and abroad. The theme of the novel derives from a French old saying which reads "people who are outside the fortress want to break into it, while those who are trapped in the fortress desire to escape". It is a comedy of manners with much picaresque humor, as well as a scholar's novel, a satire, a commentary on courtship and marriage, and a study of one contemporary man. It can be compared to The Scholars (1749) in the 1940s of China. Hsia (1961) highly praised the novel's comic exuberance and satire, acclaiming it as "the most delightful and carefully wrought novel in modern Chinese literature; it is perhaps also its greatest novel" (p. 441).
QIAN Zhong-shu, from a special perspective, offers a realistic description of the contradictory state of mind and character flaws of the middle-class Chinese intellectuals deeply influenced by the Western and Chinese cultures in the Republican era. QIAN's enormous knowledge, rich imagination, and humorous satire make a vivid impression on readers of one generation after another. In particular, the wide use of Chinese and foreign allusions stands out as a big feature of Fortress Besieged, making it a unique literary masterpiece in China's modern literature history. The application of allusions helps to depict characters, stimulate plot development, highlight the ironic effect, and deepen the theme of the novel.
ZHANG Qun-xing, associate professor, Foreign Languages School, Beijing Information Science and Technology University.

Definition of Allusion
Allusions have long been cherished as the crystallization of specific cultures. According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1973), allusion is an implied or indirect reference to someone or something. Barton and Hudson (1997) defines allusion as "an indirect or explicit reference by one text to another text, to a historical occurrence, or to myths and legends" (p. 9). Leppihalme (1997) defines allusion as "a figure of speech that compares aspects or qualities of counterparts in history, mythology, scripture, literature, popular or contemporary culture" (p. 6). As Wheeler (1979) puts it, "allusion helps to elucidate the meaning of each text and to indicate the literary modes and conventions in which its author works" (p. 5). Allusions have been widely applied in literature as one figure of speech. When an allusion is incorporated into another context, it acquires a double meaning, and its original meaning gives way to the secondary meaning closely related to the context. In short, allusion is an economical means of calling upon history, mythology, Holy Scriptures and other literary works that author and reader are assumed to share (Dastjerdi & Sahebhonar, 2008).
Allusions usually derive from such origins as historical events, mythology, literary works, popular legend or folklore, fables, customs, and old sayings. The writer who adopts an allusion not only reuses the language of the original source, but also deliberately intends that the reader should recover the source context and appreciate the semantic interplay between the original and the new use. Apparently, allusions, as culture-bound elements, resist translation, and rendering them successfully depend largely on the translator's familiarity with their reference.
Thus, allusion poses a troublesome challenge for translators. The famous Israeli translation theorist Lefevere (1992) argues that allusion is what cultures "develop their own shorthand", and its translation points to "the final, real aporia" (p. 56). Translating allusions is a demanding task due to the fact that allusions have specific meanings in the culture and language in which they arise but not necessarily in others. Allusive meaning is likely to be lost in translation from one language into another if only the surface referential sense is rendered into the target language. Translation of allusions, thus, involves two language cultures as well as literary and pragmatic aspects on the textual level. Indeed, translating allusions is a challenging task. Without appropriate translation, allusions may turn out to be the cause of much confusion for target readers especially when they know little about the source language and culture.

Translation Strategies of Allusions in Fortress Besieged
Since its publication in 1947, Fortress Besieged has been translated into English, French, Japanese, German, Russian, and some other languages. The English version, issued in 1979, is a joint effort of Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao. Their translation has made Fortress Besieged the first Chinese novel ever listed in the Penguin Classics.
According to statistics, there are more than 100 allusions descending from many sources in the novel. Some derive from ancient stories, including fairy tales, legends, historical events, religious stories, fables, and so forth; can be regarded as a good example of literal translation. Generally speaking, most of the allusions are translated literally. Annotation, endnote in particular, is another widely used strategy. Besides, interpretation of the implied meaning directly in the text is also used by the translators. In the following, the specific strategies adopted in the English version will be analyzed with examples.

Literal Translation
When it comes to some allusions originating from Chinese ancient stories or poems, translators translate literally (see example (1)-(3)): (1) (QIAN, 1991, p. 202) If his father were in a bad mood, he would undoubtedly rebuke him for not having studied harder before and only cramming everything in at the last minute. There might even be admonitions about "Repairing the fold after the sheep are lost", or "One learns as one teachers" (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 210).
QIAN Zhong-shu not only used Chinese allusions, but also well knew English ones. As to those familiar to English readers, the translators directly adopt literal translation (see example (4)- (5) The allusion adopted in Example 1 comes from Aesop's Fables, "The Fox and the Grape", which is a well-known story to the western readers. In Example 2, Adam and Book of Genesis are household names to English speakers. Therefore, word for word translation would not hinder the readers' understanding.

Literal Translation Plus Endnote About Background Information
Endnote is a commonly used translation compensation strategy, especially in translating culture-bound elements. A great number of allusions applied in the novel are closely related to ancient Chinese culture.
Translators offered many endnotes to introduce to target readers the relevant background information, including the origins, related stories or persons, after literally translating the allusions in the text (see example (6)-(8)):

Literal Translation Plus Endnote Serving as Explanation
In some endnotes, translators offer a clearer explanation about the meaning of the allusion without presenting the relevant historical or cultural information. In the text its literal meaning is translated (see example (9)-(11)): (9) (QIAN, 1991, p. 13) Miss Su, who pictured herself in the words of the familiar saying, "as delectable as peach and plum and as cold as frost and ice", … (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 16).
Endnote: A standard description of a woman who appears cold and stern. It usually describes a virtuous maiden or widow (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 355).
(10) (QIAN, 1991, p. 36) Later, the planes kept coming in much the same manner as the peerless beauty whose "one glance could conquer a city and whose second glance could vanquish an empire" (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 40

Literal Translation Plus Explanation Added In the Text
Translators, on several occasions, directly explained a few allusions to make a supplement to help target readers understand the true meaning (see example (12)- (14)): (QIAN, 1991, p. 107) The "three parts" referred to in "give in to her three parts" was not the "three parts" of "three parts water, seven parts dust", but rather the "three parts" as in "There are but three parts moonlight in all the world", which simply means total surrender (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 109

Interpretation of the Implied Meaning Plus Endnote
As to some allusions of a typical Chinese tradition, like Buddhism, translators directly explain the implied meaning in the text with endnotes made to introduce some relevant cultural information (see example (15)-(16)): When the plan fell through, Li was the first to say, "Thank God", adding, "It may be a blessing in disguise… " (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 170).
Endnote: Literally, "just like the old frontiersman losing a horse, who knows but that which seems a misfortune may be a blessing in disguise" (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 354).

Interpretation of the Implied Meaning
Some allusions are translated by directly explaining the implied meaning without endnotes added outside the text. But this strategy is seldom applied (see example (17)-(20)): (QIAN, 1991, p. 3) Ordinarily the young woman had a rather conceited, aloof expression, much like that of a neglected guest at a large party or an unmarried maiden at a wedding feast (Kelly & Mao, 2011, p. 5).

Conclusions
Most of the allusions in Fortress Besieged are classical, historical, literary, and cultural allusions which are not to be understood from superficial perusal. In the English translation, Kelly and Mao mainly adopt the strategy of literal translation plus endnote. This is indicative of the translators' wish to be as faithful as possible to the source text. More than 200 endnotes facilitate the readers' understanding of the novel. Without them, QIAN's fabulous satire would at times become inaccessible to comprehension. Besides, the literal translation strategy is also of a big help to communicate the Chinese culture to foreigners.