The change of form inevitably takes place on all levels of language-culture in Chinese-English translation. The focus of discussion here is how to change forms properly in reproducing similar rhetorical devices. Influenced by the harmonious philosophical perception of Golden Mean (or Central Harmony),the Chinese have developed their peculiar aesthetic values, one of which is unique emphasis on the beauty of balance. For example, antithesis is an important figure of speech in both Chinese and English which emphasizes a contrast by presenting contradictory or similar ideas with two or more words or sentences in sharp juxtaposition. But antithesis is much more employed in Chinese poetry, folk songs, proverbs and proverbial expressions than in English.
e.g. 人無千日好, 花無百日紅。(proverb)
Man cannot be always fortunate; flowers do not last forever. (Tr. Li Dingkun)
滿招損，謙受益。（Book of Songs）
Haughtiness invites losses while modesty brings profits. (Tr. Li Dingkun)
The effect of contrast is achieved in both ST and TT by means of antithesis. 好 and紅 in this context bear connotative meanings which are properly translated. "While" in the second sentence connects two contradictory ideas and emphasizes the effect of contrast. This amplification of words is also used in the translation of classical Chinese poems.
登鸛雀樓
王之渙
白日依山盡，黃河入海流。
欲窮千里目，更上一層樓。
Mounthing the Stock Tower
Wang Zhihuan
The white sun sets behind mountains,
The Yellow River flows into the sea.
Go further up one flight of stairs,
And you'll widen you view a thousand li.
(Tr.Li Dingkun)
The first two lines of the ST are sharply juxtaposed with co-ordinate ideas presented by黃河and白日，入and依,海and 山,流and 盡.So are the first two lines of the TT. The last two lines of the ST are cohesive by the implied relationship between condition and result. "And" is thus amplified to reproduce this relationship and "You" to make the fourth line a complete sentence. The TT seems to have changed a little in the form of antithesis, but this change is necessary in order to preserve all the meanings of the ST.
The formation of many Chinese four-character compounds with co-ordinate relations also reveals this aesthetic value of Chinese. Balance is so carefull kept in these four-character compounds that meaning is often repeated. For example,天造地設consists of two parts, 天造 and 地設.地設 actually repeats the meaning of 天造 in a similar form.This formation,which can be found in天涯海角,十拿九穩(wěn)，年深月久，繁榮昌盛and many others,serves to make compounds balanced in form and sound with emphasis on meaning. Owing to this feature of compounds, it is enough to translate the meaning of one part to avoid redundancy. The above five compounds can be translated respectively into be created by nature (ideal), the ends of the earth (the remotest corners of the earth ), practically certain, as the years go by and prosperity. This method can only be used when coordinate relationship exists and it is not the only method. As to the kinds of four-character compounds with modifying relationship or subject-predicate relationship, a careful analysis of the exact relationship should be made before proper method is selected.
The translation of compounds matters a great deal, because the compound is the most important Chinese linguistic unit which reflects all the methods, mediums and relationships of combination. It can serve as a constituent of a sentence and become a sentence itself when it is read with an intonation. Besides the repetition of meaning for the aesthetic value mentioned above, a compound often has connotative meaning which is quite different from its formal meaning and sometimes the images in the compound have to be changed in order to achieve faithfulness.世界風云as a TV program does not refer to any wind or cloud in the world.It means World Affairs Review.紙上談兵 now only has connotative meaning—unpractical empty talk. Its translation "to be an armchair strategist" has turned the image "paper" into "armchair" and added "strategist". Although談is omitted in translation,the effect of being an armchair general who offers advice or opinions without acturally participating in the war is quite similar to that of the source culture.雖敗猶榮seems to be a contradictory concept in Chinese culture, fortunately this contradiction is shared by the English-speaking people and the expression "successful failure" is the evidence.
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