3. Untranslatability in Classical Chinese Poem Translation

3.1 Theoretical Basis: “Three Beauty” Theory

3.1.1 Three Beauty: Beauty in Sound, Form and Sense 

“The principle of ‘Three Beauty’ was first put forward by Lu Xun, who held that when one was learning Chinese or writing, the form, sound and sense were the most important factors that were worth paying attention to(Wang Peng, 2008: 42).” Based on his long-term translation practices, professor Xu creatively applied the theory to poem translation. He believes that “beauty in sound makes a poem pleasant to hear; beauty in form makes a poem enjoyable to read, and beauty in sense gives readers wonderful emotional satisfaction(Xu Yuanchong, 2006: 35).” 

As for the relation of the “three beauty”, professor Xu maintains that “beauty in sense should be put in the first place, while beauty in form is the least important(ibid.: 9-10).” That is to say, in cases where the “three beauty” of a poem cannot be reproduced at the same time, the priority should be given to the beauty in sense. Wang Peng (2008) explained that “it would be best if all the three factors could be reproduced simultaneously, but the order of sense, sound and lastly form should always be followed if one was to produce a qualified rendition in classical poem translation.”