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Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany

As the Editor-in-Chief of IJSSH, I invite you to contribute your scholarly work to our esteemed publication. The journal publishes papers which focus on the advanced researches in the field of all aspects of social science and humanity. I'll endeavour to make this journal grow better and hopefully it will become a recognized journal among researchers and scholars in related fields.

Home > Archive > 2025 > Volume 15, Number 4, 2025
IJSSH 2025 Vol.15(4): 124-128
doi: 10.18178/ijssh.2025.15.4.1253

Transknowtology and Historical-Orientation: A Study on Burton Watson's Translations of Lu You's Poetry

Yunze Zhang
School of Foreign Languages, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Email: Marxzzz0623@gmail.com

Manuscript received November 21, 2024; accepted February 18, 2025; published July 17, 2025.

Abstract—Burton Watson’s translation of Lu You’s poetry and literature, notably “The Old Man Who Does as He Pleases”, symbolizes a critical turning point in the global dissemination of Lu You’s creative output, liberating the translation of his masterworks from the constraints of academic research. This paper scrutinizes Burton Watson’s translation of Lu You’s poems through the perspective of selection, translational strategies, para-text, and reception, while also considering the backdrop of nativism during the counter-culture movement. The study finds that Watson’s translation maintains the characteristics of Transknowletology and historical orientation. The Chinese and Western differences in the translation of Lu You’s poems continue to fade in the collision of Chinese and Western cultures and the compromise between the two languages, which expands the scope of the study of Lu You’s poem translations in the United States and deepens its analysis. Examining Watson’s translation of Lu You’s poems encourages readers to consider English translation techniques from a variety of angles, expands their understanding of the interplay between language, culture, and knowledge, and supports the comprehensive translation of Chinese writings into other languages in the modern era. Additionally, it advances the conversion of Chinese traditional culture from local to global knowledge.

Keywords—Burton Watson, transknowletology, Lu You’s poetry, poetry translation, historical orientation

Cite: Yunze Zhang, "Transknowtology and Historical-Orientation: A Study on Burton Watson's Translations of Lu You's Poetry," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 124-128, 2025.

Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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