Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature

Authored by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Chuang Tzu is another culturally significant Taoist canon, aside from Tao Te Ching. Due to its essential role in the development of Chinese philosophy and literature, Chuang Tzu has drawn the attention of sinologists worldwide to introduce this oriental...

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Main Author: Bilin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Yerevan State University 2023-06-01
Series:Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/transl-stud/article/view/10225
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author Bilin Liu
author_facet Bilin Liu
author_sort Bilin Liu
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description Authored by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Chuang Tzu is another culturally significant Taoist canon, aside from Tao Te Ching. Due to its essential role in the development of Chinese philosophy and literature, Chuang Tzu has drawn the attention of sinologists worldwide to introduce this oriental masterpiece to their cultures and influenced the local literati. Burton Watson’s high-quality rendition The Complete Work of Chuang Tzu(1968) has been well-received by the renowned American poet Gary Snyder, who, based on Watson’s translation, rewrote Chuang Tzu in his eco-poetic literature to show his agreement with Zhuangzi’s philosophies. Most of scholars studying Snyder, however, seem to ignore his reception of Chuang Tzu and are more inclined to credit Tao Te Ching alone for his familiarity with Taoism. Thus, this study explores Snyder’s understanding of Chuang Tzu. Borrowing André Lefevere’s concept of rewriting and seeing it as a method of reception, this article conducts a comparative analysis between Snyder’s compositions and (Watson’s translation of) Chuang Tzu and investigates how Zhuangzi’s philosophies were rewritten and interpreted in Snyder’s context. It is found that Snyder rewrote Chuang Tzu mainly through commentary and imitation, and that some ideas were embraced directly while others were redefined and repositioned.
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spelling doaj.art-510ca80c8d174d46bf50565b06eac12b2023-07-06T08:01:52ZengYerevan State UniversityTranslation Studies: Theory and Practice2738-26992738-28262023-06-0131 (5)10.46991/TSTP/2023.3.1.01412204Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic LiteratureBilin Liu0The University of Hong KongAuthored by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, Chuang Tzu is another culturally significant Taoist canon, aside from Tao Te Ching. Due to its essential role in the development of Chinese philosophy and literature, Chuang Tzu has drawn the attention of sinologists worldwide to introduce this oriental masterpiece to their cultures and influenced the local literati. Burton Watson’s high-quality rendition The Complete Work of Chuang Tzu(1968) has been well-received by the renowned American poet Gary Snyder, who, based on Watson’s translation, rewrote Chuang Tzu in his eco-poetic literature to show his agreement with Zhuangzi’s philosophies. Most of scholars studying Snyder, however, seem to ignore his reception of Chuang Tzu and are more inclined to credit Tao Te Ching alone for his familiarity with Taoism. Thus, this study explores Snyder’s understanding of Chuang Tzu. Borrowing André Lefevere’s concept of rewriting and seeing it as a method of reception, this article conducts a comparative analysis between Snyder’s compositions and (Watson’s translation of) Chuang Tzu and investigates how Zhuangzi’s philosophies were rewritten and interpreted in Snyder’s context. It is found that Snyder rewrote Chuang Tzu mainly through commentary and imitation, and that some ideas were embraced directly while others were redefined and repositioned. https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/transl-stud/article/view/10225Gary SnyderChuang Tzueco-poetic literaturerewritingreception
spellingShingle Bilin Liu
Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
Gary Snyder
Chuang Tzu
eco-poetic literature
rewriting
reception
title Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
title_full Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
title_fullStr Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
title_full_unstemmed Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
title_short Rewriting as Reception: Gary Snyder’s Representation of Chuang Tzu in His Eco-Poetic Literature
title_sort rewriting as reception gary snyder s representation of chuang tzu in his eco poetic literature
topic Gary Snyder
Chuang Tzu
eco-poetic literature
rewriting
reception
url https://journals.ysu.am/index.php/transl-stud/article/view/10225
work_keys_str_mv AT bilinliu rewritingasreceptiongarysnydersrepresentationofchuangtzuinhisecopoeticliterature