Famous American poet Robert Frost once said, "Poetry is what gets lost in translation" But Xu Yuanchong, a well - known Chinese translator, has tried to convey the beauty of ancient Chinese poetry throughout his life. His teacher Qian Zhongshu commented on his poetry translation, "You are dancing while chained by rhyme (押韵) and thythm, but the dance shows amazing freedom and beauty, which is quite impressive."
Since 1978, Xu has published more than 100 translated works in Chinese, English and French, reaching millions of readers at home and abroad. Most notably, he translated Chinese poems into rhymed verses in both English and French. He is also the first Asian winner of the Aurora Borealis Prize for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature.
Xu is known to be very fastidious (一丝不苟的) in his work. For him, English is a "scientific" language that needs exactness while Chinese is an"artistic" language that includes a wider range of content. Following this principle, Xu not only keeps faithfulness in sense but beauty in sensibility in his translation.
Through Xu's translations, time-honored Chinese wisdom has made an impact on Western societies and the world. For example, when former US president Barack Obama tried to begin a healthcare project during his presidency, some senators disagreed at first. But after reading the poem titled Fishing in Snow translated by Xu, one senator was so impressed with the fisherman's independent thinking that he chose to part with the party line to support Obama.
Having made such great achievements, the 100 - year - old maintains a routine (常规). Every day he translates about 1, 000 words, working till 3 to 4 am, sleeping about 3 hours and getting up at 6 am to continue. "Translation is a means of communicating with the writer's soul. A sudden flicker of a good word or a good line thrills every pore and every inch of my skin," Xu told News China.
