Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.3, 2022

A New Exploration of Rhythm Translation in the West

(Abstract)

Li Sha

In the 1930s to 1950s, the French collector and scholar Jean Pierre Dubosc was the first to reassess the aesthetic value of painting and calligraphy of the Ming and Qing dynasties. He used “rhythm” to correspond to “qiyun,” and reconciled another translation of “qiyun,” which is “spirit-resonance.” The concept of spirit-resonance benefited from Lin Yutang’s elaboration of the “form” and “rhythm” in the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy. The Westward spread of “qiyun” reflects the complex aspects of cross-cultural modernity. On the one hand, Western scholars chose “rhythm” from their own culture to translate “qiyun,” giving “rhythm” a new meaning and completing the modern transformation of Western art. On the other hand, Lucy Driscoll, Lin Yutang and others also realized the modern significance of Chinese art when they interpreted the vivid rhythm of Chinese calligraphy to the West. Lin Yutang’s theory of the spirituality of things in calligraphy was applied consciously by Benjamin to his doctrine of imitation, and this demonstrates the modern potential of Chinese artistic concepts to reshape perception.