In Western academic circles，English translation of modern and contemporary Chinese poetry、Research and dissemination have received more and more attention in recent years，Attracted many fans of Chinese poetry、A passionate translator and researcher of Chinese literature。American Sinologist、Nick Admussen, associate professor of the Department of Asia at Cornell University, is one of them。He is mainly engaged in the research and translation of modern and contemporary Chinese poetry，Amateur writing of English poetry and prose，The author of "Recite and Refuse: Contemporary Chinese Prose Poetry" and other works，Has translated the poetry collection "Floral Mutter" by contemporary Chinese poet Mushi Shi。Recent，Professor Wang Baorong of the School of Foreign Languages ​​of Hangzhou Normal University had a dialogue with An Minxuan。An Minxuan focused on reviewing how he embarked on the path of poetry research and translation，Introducing the translation of "The Whisper of the Flowers"、edit、Publication and Acceptance Status，Shared his translation of modern and contemporary Chinese poetry in the United States、Insights on Research and Dissemination。

　　Bet365 app download

Wang Baorong:Please tell us why you chose Chinese as your research major and direction in college。

　　An Minxuan:I think this is inseparable from the family environment。My father was a professor of French literature at Washington University in St. Louis，Mainly research French literary journals in the early 20th century，Written a book on the Irish writer Samuel Beckett。He died of leukemia when I was young，Therefore，To me he is a "distant influence"，An existence that is invisible but can be felt at all times。My mother raised me，She has a more direct influence on me，She had hoped that I would attend Georgetown University (also translated as "Georgetown University") to major in political science。But I ended up following in my late father’s footsteps，Become a researcher of foreign literature。Due to the nature of my father’s work，My family often lived abroad before I was born，Lived in France in the 1960s and 1970s，So my family all speak French。My brothers and sisters have all traveled abroad、Life for many years，So I grew up thinking it was normal to leave St. Louis and live somewhere else。At the same time，I’ve never been very fond of French，Because the inflection of French verbs is very complicated，There are many rules for spelling words。

When I was in high school, I took a course called "History of the Chinese Empire"，I like it very much，So I started to learn Chinese when I was in college。Later I realized that Chinese is much more difficult to learn than French! I can keep studying，I also experienced a "chill to the bone"。My biggest motivation for learning Chinese is，Learned Chinese，I can travel to China，Converse freely with Chinese people，Participate in various daily activities and related academic exchanges in China。At the same time，Because I grew up in a semi-religious family，I like China’s “atheism” and the blending of different religious cultures。I also like the fireworks and "market culture" of Chinese cities。With the improvement of Chinese level，I have Bet365 lotto review become increasingly interested in Chinese culture。

　Wang Baorong:How did you embark on the path of research and translation of modern and contemporary Chinese poetry? Why are you so fond of poetry?

　An Minxuan:I wrote my first poem when I was 12 years old。Become a poet、It has always been my dream to engage in poetry research。For me，This is due to interest。I have considered Can Xue’s novels or anonymous literature as a doctoral thesis topic，Finally out of love for poetry，Choose modern and contemporary Chinese prose poetry that was less studied in American academic circles at that time。

In order to obtain first-hand information、Close contact with Chinese poets，I visited China many times during my PhD studies。2009，I met the poet Du Shi in Chengdu，This is where our friendship and cooperation begins。Same year，I attended Zang Di’s poetry course at the Chinese Department of Peking University，I feel the strong influence of Peking University、Pioneering cultural atmosphere of poetry，I still remember reciting with the participants、The scene of appreciating poetry。At Peking University，Be able to read unique and beautiful poems anywhere，Amateur poetry lover can transform into a professional poet，Already famous poets will continue to try to create new online poems，And appreciate the works of new poets。Poetry classes in American universities lack this kind of scene。Although I could barely understand those poems at that time，Can barely understand the Chinese conversation，But I think it feels great to be in the "interstitial" space。The “gap” space generated by poetry and the open humility，Exactly why I like poetry and poetry culture。I don’t think poetry is the crown of literature or better than novels。I like poetry because anyone can write poetry、Read poetry，Write a poem in just a moment，And everyone can share。The openness of poetry allows me to be a reader at the same time、Author、Translator、The reviewer’s identity participates in the production of poetry value。

I published my first academic paper in 2009，Discussing Lu Xun's collection of prose poems "Wild Grass"; 2014，I guest edited the special issue "Lu Xun's "Wild Grass"" in the "Journal of Modern Chinese Literature" sponsored by Lingnan University in Hong Kong，This started my research on modern and contemporary Chinese poetry。As for translation，Originally due to the need for doctoral thesis research，I translated some contemporary Chinese prose poems。Since 2013，The dumb stone poems I translated have been published in English magazines，The 2020 collection will be "The Whisper of Flowers"，Published by Zephyr Press。

　"The May Fourth Poetry Breakthrough in Form Created the Free Verse Tradition

Wang Baorong:"Recitation and Dictionary Performance: Contemporary Chinese Prose Poetry" is based on the revision of your doctoral thesis，Highly praised by experts in the field。Dutch sinologist Michel Hockx called it "a masterpiece that revised the development view of Chinese prose poetry in the 20th century"; Chinese scholar Wang Pu commented on it，“Analyzing prose poetry creation as a process of ‘recitation’ and ‘performance’，Constructed a new theory that can better interpret Chinese prose poetry"; American sinologist Todd Foley praised "the translation in the book is exquisitely crafted，Excellent”。In your book, you proposed that contemporary Chinese prose poetry began in the 1950s，Why do you raise this point，Wouldn’t this cut off its connection with the May Fourth Movement tradition and Lu Xun’s “Wild Grass”?

　　An Minxuan:This book is indeed based on my PhD thesis。Disappointingly，The publisher asked me to delete a chapter on Zou Yuehan’s prose poems and most of the original Chinese poems involved in the book。a few years ago，I commissioned a friend to translate this book into Chinese，Currently completed，It can be published after confirming the publishing house。

I put forward the above views on literary history，It’s not that the May Fourth literary creation had no influence on prose poetry or that no one read Lu Xun’s prose poetry after the 1960s，But it is believed that the genre of prose poetry did not exist in a coherent way in China in the 1920s and 1930s。Those works that were called "prose poetry" at that time were closer to what is called "blank poetry" today。Prose writing was the norm in the early 20th century - for example, Lu Xun blended short stories and limericks into poetic prose in "Weeds"，Another example is that Liu Bannong and Zhou Zuoren regard prose poetry as a kind of broken or unruly poetry-no longer in line with the current standards of prose poetry。If anyone wants to understand a Chinese poem (including prose poem) from the 20th or 21st century，He can trace his "May 4th" ideological legacy。But if you want to understand the genre of contemporary Chinese prose poetry，Then we have to translate Tagore’s prose poems and Ke Lan from Bing Xin in the 1950s、Start with Guo Feng’s creation of “orthodox” prose poems，And Lu Xun's "Wild Grass" is not very relevant。I think，Literature moves forward in a non-linear way，Literary history cannot be understood with linear thinking。But I want to say，The formal breakthrough of "May Fourth" poetry was mainly the creation of a tradition of free verse that was different from prose。The self-contained traditional concepts of "free verse" and "prose" are necessary prerequisites for the formation of prose poetry，Therefore, the genre of prose poetry will not appear until free verse and prose are fully mature。

　　Multiple translations of "Weeds" each have their own characteristics

Wang Baorong:You have done a lot of research on "Weeds"，And translated several of them。In your article "Foreword: Translation of the Book Title "Weeds"" published in 2014, you said: "From the perspective of the translator，It may be better to translate the name of the poetry collection as Weeds。"What's the reason? There are three full English translations of "Wild Grass": Yang Xianyi、Wild Grass translated by Gladys、Weeds translated by Matt Turner and Wild Grass translated by Eileen J. Cheng & Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk。How do you rate them? How has "Weeds" been received in the English-speaking world?

　An Minxuan:As understood，Dutch sinologist Lloyd Haft first proposed using Weeds to translate the title of the book "Weeds" in 2000。2012，At a conference sponsored by the American Association for Asian Studies，He Maixiao expressed to me that this translation is advisable。I think，Compared to Wild Grass，Weeds feels darker，Word meaning is more faithful、More specific and even more relevant，And it has two meanings: "weed" and "mourning clothes"，More in line with Lu Xun’s fascination with funerals in "Weeds"，So it’s a good choice。Different choices will bring different results，Wild Grass has been used as the English translation of "Wild Grass" for nearly a hundred years，There is some value in keeping it。

I think，Yang’s translation is suitable for popular readers; Turner’s translation is the most creative，It is also the most interesting to read; Zheng’s translation is suitable for scholars bet365 live casino games and other readers who want to interpret the theme of "Weeds"。It is a good thing that there are different translations of "Weeds"，Therefore I sincerely recommend that everyone read these three English translations at the same time。Turner is a freelance writer and translator，Living in New York。As far as I know，He really loves "Weeds"，To understand、Translated the original work and determined to learn Chinese well。Translation has different qualities of fidelity，Spiritual loyalty is often not taken seriously，It is this kind of loyalty that Turner pursues。"Weeds" is a collection of experimental poems，Strange thoughts，Exceptionally difficult to translate，Exceptionally difficult to translate，It is possible that all the words in the original work are translated correctly，Readers cannot see that this is a pioneering work。Turner himself also writes experimental poetry，I think he wanted to try to give the translation the same feeling he had when reading the original work，He read the multiple meanings and uniqueness of the original work，These are things that Yang’s translation does not value。By the way，Seaweed Salad Editions, which publishes the Turner translation, is a small experimental press，Only publish books they come up with，Don’t care about commercial and academic aspects。I like Zheng’s translation，It attempts to establish a new translation standard that can replace Yang's translation，And easy to find in bookstores (not so with the Turner translation)。Zheng Ailing combined "Wild Grass" and "Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" into one volume and published it，Especially convenient for English readers，I think she translated "Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" quite well。

About the reception of "Weeds" in the English-speaking world，I think it is the same as most ancient and contemporary Chinese literary works，Not many readers have read the translation of "Weeds" yet。The formation of a readership still depends on the unremitting efforts of translators and reviewers。In other words，Only He Maixiao、Zheng Ailing、Professional readers like Turner are reading "Weeds"。These people either understand Chinese，Or have had direct contact with the original work before。I have translated a very short "Tombstone Essay"，I also thought about translating a few more articles，But many excellent translators have translated "Weeds"，At the same time, there are many literary works worthy of translation that have not been translated or are under-translated。Re-translation of a famous work is to further explore and experiment on the basis of the previous translation，Retranslation of "Weeds" is necessary，But I am not sure whether I will translate "Weeds" or publish a new translation。

　Translated out of love or research needs

Wang Baorong:Mu Shi’s poems are not particularly famous in China，Why do you want to translate? What is unique about his poetry?、edit、Publication and acceptance status?

　　An Minxuan:around 2008，For the purpose of writing a doctoral thesis，I am conducting relevant research in Sichuan，During this period, I read Mushi Shi’s poems，I fell in love with it when I first read it。I read "Obscure Poems" at that time，It is a sonnet composed of couplets，Multiple puns。I not only like the beauty of the sound of his words，And I found this poem to be complex in thought、Humble and restrained、Witty and interesting。The important thing is that I feel the translation in the poem，I have the urge to translate it into English immediately。2009，Introduced by Zang Di，I met dumb stone in Chengdu，Found him easy and enjoyable to work with。Later，I decided to translate and publish a collection of dumb stone poems，Because I know he will fully support me，In the long and difficult translation process，His wisdom and friendship will bring me happiness。Poets are generally creative，But there are not many poets who can match the imagination of Mute Stone。He constantly creates new and wonderful poetry forms、Scenario、Language。Sometimes a poet writes about the feelings we have had，Dumb Stone also does this，But more often than not，He uses poetry to record feelings that others have never felt or feelings that we don’t know we have。I think，This is the unique feature of dumb stone poetry。

About the difficulty of translating Du Shi’s poems and my translation principles and strategies，You can refer to Li Hongman’s interview with me originally published in the 2019 issue 3 of Oriental Translation。What should be added here is the difficulty of understanding the original poem，Because there are not many reviews of truly successful dumb stone poems，Lack of reference materials when translating，At the same time, like other contemporary Chinese avant-garde poets，To accurately interpret the subtle meaning of dumb stone’s poems，Not only is it time consuming，Still need patience。Fortunately, I can ask dumb stone himself for advice。Discuss his poems every time we meet，I want to make sure I understand what he wants to say in the poem。He is always very patient，Discuss with me one song after another。I inevitably choose the wrong English words or sentence structure during the first translation，Sometimes due to complex syntax or difficult concepts，I know only a little about the original poem，Just use the same complicated and difficult English to deal with it。After face-to-face discussion with dumb stone，I often feel that I understand his poems。

I originally planned to submit "The Whisper of Flowers" to West Wind Publishing House for publication，Because in 2011 it published Zhai Yongming’s poetry collection "The Changing Room" (The Changing Room) translated by Andrea Lingenfelter，Good response。This is a small independent publishing house，Established in 1980，Famous for publishing contemporary translated poetry and prose。Me to the poet、The translator and executive editor of the agency, Christopher Mattison, has long been famous，I will write an email to him after the translation is completed，Meet to meet。He likes this translation，And put forward good suggestions on the selection of articles。We immediately signed a publishing contract，The publisher helped me successfully apply for the 2017 PEN America Heim Translation Fund，After that I started to revise the translation。The whole process took a long time，Part of the reason is that the publisher initially hired a very experienced translator to serve as a copy editor。I didn’t expect him to say “I don’t want to do it anymore” before he even read 15% of the manuscript。The reason why he is angry，I think half of it is because there are errors in my translation，I think half of it is because there are errors in my translation。This is a collection of poems in Chinese and English，When editing, you have to consider the "niche" readers who understand both Chinese and English，It took me a long time to solve this problem。Several poems were published in magazines before being included in Whispers of Flowers。Bet365 app download These magazines have highly bilingual editors，They read these poems，But failed to find the problem in the translation。So I had to read the entire manuscript line by line，Rethink and translate，Try to make the translation more accurate。My colleagues、Teng Qiuyun, a senior lecturer in the Department of Asia at Cornell University, has extensive experience in poetry editing，Meticulous，Meticulous。She read through the manuscript patiently，It adds a lot of color to this collection of translated poems。

"The Whisper of the Flowers" was well received in the United States。Hundreds of copies of the book have been sold so far，Collected by 33 university libraries around the world; "Imaginary Poems" and "Obscure Poems" in the collection were selected and archived by the Poetry Foundation of America，"Quiet Lake in the Mountains" was selected as the best contemporary poetry by the popular literary website "Daily Poetry"; "Asian Book Review", "Paris Review" and other publications published book reviews。Polish scholar Joanna Krenz once translated Mute Stone’s poems into Polish，Her long review published in the Hong Kong literary magazine "Tea" is accurate and professional。

　　Wang Baorong:You have also translated the works of other Chinese poets，Including Ouyang Jianghe's "Hanging Coffin" and Zang Di、Poems of Genzi (formerly known as Yue Zhong)。Are there any new translations recently? What are your translation selection criteria?

　An Minxuan:I often translate poems out of research needs or requests from colleagues。Recently writing a paper，I translated Wang Pu、Ni Zhange、Yang Xiaobin、Some poems by Jiang Tao。I analyzed the works of the first three poets in the article "Poetic Turn: Writing Research on Chinese Culture Between Empires" published in the 2023 issue 1 of the English academic journal "Prism: Theory and Modern Chinese Literature"，The paper dedicated to Jiang Tao's "My Baghdad" was included in the collection of papers，To be published by Amsterdam University Press, Netherlands。I am particularly happy to accept the invitation from Michelle Yeh, Professor of the Department of East Asian Languages ​​and Cultures at the University of California, Davis，In 2023, at her invitation, I translated several poems from Taiwan, China and Zhang Zao’s poems。She is very discerning，Generosity，And the ones she selected are all excellent poets，So I don’t mind doing “propositional translation” for her。But usually I translate poems that I really like or that are relevant to my research。

Chinese contemporary poetry translators and translators are active and productive

Wang Baorong:Western translation of ancient Chinese poems and contemporary novels、More active in research，Translation、Research on contemporary Chinese poetry is relatively insufficient，What do you think is the reason?

　An Minxuan:Chinese literary historians like to associate genres with historical periods，Like Tang poetry and Song lyrics、Yuan Qu、Novel of Ming and Qing Dynasties、"May Fourth" short stories, etc.，But the closer it is to now，The connection between the two becomes even more unclear。Today's era，It can be said that genre novels (such as martial arts、Science fiction) or TV series become popular，But it is definitely not the era of poetry。Therefore，Those who want to describe or embody Chinese characteristics，And people interested in politics，They will turn their attention to the literary forms they think Chinese people value most。Classical Chinese works are considered to represent "pure" Chinese culture without Western influence，Thus attractive to these people。If Westerners today want to specialize in studying Chinese culture，I usually start with 20th century novels，Then dabble in a little contemporary film or genre fiction，Finally focus on Chinese classical literature。I think，This is a good thing for the study of contemporary poetry，We can ask and answer non-country related questions，Focus on ideas and emotions that cannot simply be classified as “Chinese literature”。

　Wang Baorong:Today’s English-speaking world，Which scholars are translating、Most active in researching contemporary Chinese poetry?

　　An Minxuan:Currently，There is a group of particularly excellent translators、Scholar、Thinkers are active in this field。This academic community is not big，But its members - including Maghiel van Crevel、Ximi、Lucas Klein、Song Zijiang、Heather Inwood，Wait--all active and productive，Sincere，I look forward to maintaining communication and cooperation with them。These scholars are good at research and translation，Jennifer Feeley、Eleanor Goodman、Ling Jingyi、Austin Woerner、Steve Bradbury and others are famous for their translation。

Wang Baorong:Poets writing in Chinese want to gain international fame，Translation is important，The publisher is equally important。So far, English translations of contemporary Chinese poetry have mostly come from small independent publishing houses or university presses，Why? Do you think it's possible for commercial publishers to get involved?

　An Minxuan:Poetry is mainly transmitted on a one-to-one basis，causing commercial publishers to stay away from it。The book market pursues maximization of economic value，Once the competition becomes more intense，Publishers tend to publish classics、Generally accepted、Books with publication support。Poetry is not liked by the commercial publishing world，This actually reflects the true value of poetry from one aspect。Small Press、Academic Press、Self-publishers and the Internet disseminate through one-on-one methods，Thus suitable for poetry。

(The author is an associate professor in the Department of Asia, Cornell University; a professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Hangzhou Normal University)