Cultural Implications of Numbers in the Tang Poems & the Realization of Them in the English Translations

As a unique language Phenomenon, numeral expressions are frequently employed in Ancient Chinese poems including the Tang Poems, the most influential and most precious part of Chinese literature. Therefore it is meaningful to study them since numeral expressions in Chinese language bear abundant cultural implications that are deeply rooted in a traditional Chinese culture tradition: Daoism, the ultimate goal of which is to reach harmony between man and nature and this in fact has become the goal of life for many Chinese poets who are nurtured by Daoism. The objective of this article is to study this language phenomenon in the Tang Poems, explain why it is difficult to translate Tang Poems into English language and strive to seek a solution to this problem. In order to reach this purpose, we propose a tripartie model for numeral semantics, namely, numeral expressions in Chinese language may convey three potential meanings: perceptional meaning, notional meaning and aesthetic meaning; while expressed in different languages, the intersections of meanings (co-knowledge, consensus, consonance) vary in degree; among them, the least one is the intersection of aesthetic meanings, by which we mean the aesthetic feeling that can be motivated by language, either the original or the target. Based on our “meaning system” framework and bridging linguistic analysis and cultural philosophy, this article reaches the conclusion: three kind of meaning intersections between the original and target languages must be realized for successful translations, including, undoubtedly, the translations of the Tang Poems. In conclusion, this article points out that whenever translating is regarded as a purposeful activity, only techniques that can transmit cultural implications of the numeral expressions in Tang poems into the target language are ideal options of translation.