When university students of school with fame and prestige face a problem like this, let alone other youngsters. This leads to my first goal in writing this essay attracting more and more youngsters to explore the wonderland of Chinese classics by uncovering myriad gorgeous features of Chinese language as well as classical Chinese literature through case analysis.

As for the debate between translatability and untranslatability, many excellent translators and linguistics have for a long time dedicated their part of contributions, yet no final agreement is reached. Since duilian stems from poem, theories proposed through poem translation study are also applicable to duilian. Wang Yizhu(1983) points out that poem is one thing that can’t be translated for its poetic favor is integrated with the language itself in an organic way(p.192). It is true that there are hundreds and hundreds of existing translated poems. However, as Wang Yizhu(1983) argues, the practical activity of translation is just one side of the coin, and that whether a poem is theoretically translatable is the other side(p.191). We all agree languages are all efficient tools for the expression of ideas which are able to be translated. But, as Bao Zhennan(1983) once put, languages get their blood and vessel in different societies and cultural traditions, boast different structures and thinking patterns, and sometimes elude translation(p.264). It is true that there are many elements that can be translated, but from the sole aspect of the aesthetic function of a literary form born in one language, many a thing are lost once they’re translated. This essay then, secondly, aims to find out those lost aesthetic elements with the help of duilian, and with the presentation of untranslatable elements, to help people figure out better ways in Chinese couplet translation. 

1.2 Outline of the Paper

This essay is pided into five chapters. The first and last chapter are introduction and conclusion respectively, and the second chapter is literature review. The third chapter is dedicated to a brief comparison between English and Chinese, and the forth chapter focuses on the discussion of the aesthetic untranslatability of duilian in character pattern, speech sounds, and artistic conception respectively, including some ingenious couplets too integrated with the language itself to be well translated

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 The Status Quo of the Study

Although there do exist some tentative efforts on the translation of Chinese couplet, the amount of translated couplets and the theories on its translation are far from enough. Articles on the translation of Chinese couplet do exist, but most of them are focused on the exploration of translation methods from the perspective of, for example, semantic equivalence and cultural transmission. As for the few talking about the aesthetic aspect of translating couplet, almost all are sparing no efforts to find out ways of preserving the aesthetic elements or transforming those elements into English version. This thesis is purely to show the beauty of Chinese couplet as well as the beauty of Chinese language. 

2.2 Literature Review of Duilian Translation Study

 There has been a long time when Chinese couplet is dealt as a subsidiary part of the study of poem and novel translation. It is only in recent 20 years that duilian sees its lifting in importance.

While articles on duilian translation boasts a large quantity, books dedicating all pages to duilian analysis and translation exploration are few. Chinese Couplet, published by Lai Tianchang in 1970s, has charted the course. In this book, there are more than 200 translated Chinese couplets. Preliminary to Chinese Antithetical Couplets and Their Translation into English, composed by Huang Zhongxi, is the first and only one making a relatively comprehensive study on Chinese couplet and its translation. This book is pided into two major parts. The first part is dedicated to the introduction of Chinese couplet like its development, classification, rhythms and meters, and aesthetic features. The second part includes 150 translated couplets, translation method studies, as well as the comparison between Chinese couplet and English heroic couplet.