Translation Strategies for Shitang Yuejie Songs

Shitang Yuejie Songs, as one genre of Chinese folk songs and a vibrant constituent of Lingnan Culture, are rooted in the emotions, customs, beliefs, lives, and cultural traditions of the ordinary people living the area called Shitang. As a kind of unique cultural form, the translation of Shitang Yuejie Songs is also a kind of cultural translation. After reviews the translation propositions proposed by such renowned translators as Arthur Waley, Burton Watson, Bill Porter, John Minford, Wang Baotong, Wang Rongpei and Athony Appiah, this paper proposes some general principles concerning the translation of Shitang Yuejie Songs and puts them into practice.