The Boundaries of Translating Du Fu’s Poetry： Michael Wood’s In the Footsteps of Du Fu as a Case Study

Michael Wood and his documentary Du Fu： China’s Greatest Poet have gained popularity among Chinese audiences， while his recently published book， China’s Greatest Poet： In the Footsteps of Du Fu， is still unknown to Chinese readers， but it may be even more intriguing than the documentary in terms of its academic content and cultural significance. Indeed， as Wood well pointed out， “［…］ great literature breaks across the boundaries of translation to speak to us all.” But translation is a basic prerequisite for dialogues between cultures of different languages. Whether in translation theory or translation practice， “the boundaries of translation” cannot be ignored. The translation of Du Fu’s poetry and even that of the classics of Chinese traditional culture are very different from the translation of general Chinese texts. It makes us think about how to grasp the scale of translation， where its boundaries lie， and how to break through. As an English historian who barely knows Chinese， Wood has borrowed and adapted various translations of Du Fu’s poetry to make it accessible and understandable to Western readers. His modifications include deletions， additions， replacement of words， reordering of lines， and sometimes even retranslations. What he does is much like the translating practices of Lin Shu and Ezra Pound， and Du Fu’s poems are satisfactorily conveyed through his work. It indicates that it is indeed possible to bridge the gap and achieve cultural exchange and mutual understanding through translation. The success of Wood’s translation tellingly lies not in his familiarity with the Chinese language， but in his understanding of the cultural backgrounds of both China and the West and the reception of Du Fu’s poetry， as well as his choice of translation strategy. The translation of Du Fu’s poetry is of typical significance for the translation of classical Chinese literature. His ability to convey the essence of Du Fu’s poetry in a way that the Western reader can understand provides a vivid example of cross-cultural communication with important theoretical significance and practical value.