Philology, anthropology and poetry in Arthur Waley's translation of the Shijing

223 Pages·2017·1.42 MB·English

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Theses & Dissertations Department of Translation
3-9-2015
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PHILOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POETRY IN
ARTHUR WALEY’S TRANSLATION
OF THE SHIJING

LIN QINGYANG

MPHIL

LINGNAN UNIVERSITY

2015
PHILOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY AND POETRY IN
ARTHUR WALEY’S TRANSLATION
OF THE SHIJING

by
LIN Qingyang

A thesis
submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Philosophy in Translation

Lingnan University

2015
ABSTRACT
Philology, Anthropology and Poetry in
Arthur Waley’s Translation of the Shijing
by
LIN Qingyang
Master of Philosophy

The topic of my thesis is Arthur Waley and his translation of the Shijing, or The
Book of Songs (1937), as Waley entitled it. The Book of Songs is especially noted for its
philological ingenuity, anthropological insight and poetic appeal; during my preliminary
research I discovered that there exists an interesting interplay between these three
aspects of this translation. In this thesis, I hope to examine the textual and thematic
hermeneutics of The Book of Songs.
Waley did not read the Shijing as a scriptural text inscribed with sagely intention
and authority; rather, he returned it to its folkloric origin, presenting the Shijing as an
anthropological document of the lives of ancient Chinese people, an imaginative
expression of the desires, beliefs and values of a primitive society, and a vivid mimesis
of ancient life. Waley’s philological decisions were underpinned by this general
interpretive orientation, informed by his understanding of the anthropological
significance of the Shijing and guided by an attentive concern for poetic cohesion. The
anthropological and poetic aspects were mutually implicated. The Book of Songs displays
a keen interest in the common people, and Waley’s knowledge and insight in
comparative anthropology enabled the Western reader to hear in this exotic text distant
echoes from their own traditions. These anthropological underpinnings help to
articulate and enrich the poetics of The Book of Songs. Waley’s overall design and the
poetic language he employed bring forth these anthropological aspects in a poetic
manner. The “folk” elements in the Shijing were foregrounded in The Book of Songs and
deemed to be aesthetically interesting. The style and voice that Waley developed in his
translation communicate the naive appeal of a folk aesthetic, and convey the
compositional features and modes of experience of the “primitive” imagination. In
Waley’s translation, the remote, difficult text of the Shijing is transformed into natural,
evocative English poetry, and the philological, anthropological and poetic aspects of The
Book of Songs coalesce into a Chinese aesthetic that is fresh and spontaneous, enjoying a
pristine intimacy with Nature.

Contents

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter One. Waley’s Understanding of the Shijing and his Interpretive Approach ............................. 16
1.1 Waley’s early encounters with the Shijing and the inception of The Book of Songs................... 16
1.2 The “historical” approach and The Book of Songs, with reference to The Way and Its Power and
The Analects of Confucius ...................................................................................................................... 20
Chapter Two. ............................................................................................................................................... 57
The Multiple Roles of the Translator: Waley as a Philologist, Anthropologist and Poet ..................... 57
2.1 Waley as a philologist ................................................................................................................... 57
2.1.1 Waley and philology ......................................................................................................... 57
2.1.2 Philology in The Book of Songs .......................................................................................... 60
2.1.3 Karlgren and Waley, parts and wholes ............................................................................ 65
2.2 Waley as an anthropologist .......................................................................................................... 72
2.2.1 Waley and anthropology .................................................................................................. 72
2.2.2 Marcel Granet’s Festivals and Songs of Ancient China ........................................................ 76
2.2.3 Anthropology in The Book of Songs .................................................................................. 79
2.3 Waley as a poet ............................................................................................................................. 87
2.3.1 Considerations of English translations of Chinese poetry before Waley: Davis,
Legge, Giles and Pound ............................................................................................................ 88
2.3.2 Method and style in Waley’s translation: from Chinese Poems (1916) to The Book of
Songs (1937) ...............................................................................................................................106
Chapter Three. Philology, Anthropology and Poetry – the Interplay ..................................................144
3.1 Philology and Anthropology .....................................................................................................144
3.2 Philology and Poetry ..................................................................................................................152
3.3 Anthropology and Poetry ..........................................................................................................159
3.3.1 Imagery ............................................................................................................................159
3.3.2 Compositional features ..................................................................................................179
3.3.3 Mimesis of ancient life ...................................................................................................198
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................201
Works Cited ...............................................................................................................................................207

i
Acknowledgements
Most of all, I am deeply grateful for the guidance and support of my two
supervisors – Professor Leo Chan and Professor Sun Yifeng. From them I receive many
insights and timely feedbacks, and the wish to bring no disgrace on their standards of
scholarship sustains the perpetuation of my work. Professor Chan is an exceptionally
patient and attentive reader of my every draft; I am especially appreciative of the
humane intellectual sympathy he showed when reading these immature writings of
mine, and his gentle yet no less incisive ways of alluding to inconsistencies and
neglected perspectives, which would have eluded me from my own circumscribed point
of view. Professor Sun has shown his kind concern for every stage of my study;
through pondering over his remarks I clarify my thoughts, recognize possible room for
better refinement of perception and depth of understanding on my topic and
discipline.

I hope also to thank the other teachers and fellow students in our department,
who made the Department of Translation in Lingnan such a pleasant place for study. I
appreciate especially Professor Chang Nam-fung’s cordial good humour and minute
critical observations. Professor Charles Kwong inspires me with his broad humanistic
vision. Professor Shan Te-Hsing, visiting Professor in the Faculty of Arts, has also been
very kind in showing his interest about my study. Dr. Red Chan, Dr. Dorothy Wong, Dr.
Cheung Yu-kit have kindly given me their comments on my thesis topic. Ms. Yang
Yichen, my fellow postgraduate student, has taught me the value of a congenial
intellectual friendship.
During a conference in Norwich last summer, I was very glad to have the pleasant
company of Professor Rachel Lung, Dr. Roberta Raine and Dr. Tong Man, in addition
to that of Professor Chan and Professor Chang. I was also fortunate enough to meet in
Norwich Professor Joseph Allen, editor of the 1996 edition of the Songs. Professor
Allen shared with me his experience – sinological and literary – of Waley’s works, and
has not only brought me better knowledge, but also made the meeting such a
memorable delight.
I am also very grateful for my thesis examiners, Professor Rachel Lung of Lingnan
University, and Professor Joseph Poon of Hong Kong University. Their generous
goodwill I deeply cherish, and the insights and advice they gave guided me onto future
enquiries.

I appreciate the patient help of Inter-Library Loan staffs at Lingnan University,
and the kind assistance of archivists in the Archive Centre at King’s College Cambridge,
the Special Collections at the University of Reading, and the British Library.

My parents’ support, understanding and true liberality of mind make it possible
for me to pursue the scholarly path. My gratitude for them, though somewhat
inarticulate, is rooted in the deep folds of life.
ii
Introduction
One day in 1945, the editors in George Allen and Unwin Ltd. received
a request from the British Council seeking permission to re-print some
materials from one of their published books. The piece they requested is
written by Arthur Waley, and has, as the letter goes, the title “She King or
Book of Oder”. The editors in George Allen and Unwin were perplexed;
they wrote a letter of enquiry to the author of the piece: “We have not
been able to trace this amongst any of the poems we publish for you and
we shall be grateful if you will tell us in which of your books it is
contained.” “The British Council”, replied Waley in his usual tone of poise,
“means The Book of Songs.”1
It can be gathered from this incident how very unfamiliar China still
was in the minds of some Europeans, and one is reminded of David
Hawkes’s comparison, that “the accepted picture of Ancient China was as
remote from reality as Archbishop Usser’s view of world history.” (Hawkes
1989: 246) Yet while the century turned a change was taking place, however
slow and imperceptible. “A new picture” gradually emerged during the
course of the century, “filled in bit by bit by the labours of the
archaeologist, the palaeographer, the etymologist, the textual critic, and a
host of others.”(Hawkes 1989: 246) China in the eyes of the West ceased

1 Letters to and from Arthur Waley (dated 7 Nov. 1945 and 8 Nov. 1945, AUC 242/10), in
Records of George Allen & Unwin Ltd., The Archive of British Publishing and Printing,
University of Reading.
1