The Western Image of Chinese and Its Expression in Poetry: From Victor Segalen’s Stèles to Gérard Macé’s Chinese Lesson

Abstract

This paper presents specific problems posed by the Chinese translation of Victor Segalen’s prose poetry collection Stèles, and reflects on the varied relationships between Western writers and the Chinese language. The author holds that the relationship between Segalen and Chinese is not only empirical, but imaginary. For him, as for other contemporary French poets such as Gérard Macé, the Chinese language has become metaphoric for poetic language.

Keywords

poetry translation / Western imagination / Chinese language / alterity of language

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2014 Higher Education Press and Brill