A Comparative Study on the Translation of Rhetorical Devices in Zhang Ji’s Mooring by Maple Bridge at Night — A Case Study of Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang’s and Xu Yuanchong’s English Translations

Abstract

Mooring by Maple Bridge at Night by Zhang Ji is a well‑known seven‑character quatrain of Tang poetry, which abounds in various rhetorical devices. Drawing on Yu Lisan’s three‑dimensional rhetorical classification theory including phonological rhetorical devices, lexical rhetorical devices and structural rhetorical devices, this paper conducts a comparative study on the English versions produced by Xu Yuanchong and Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang. It focuses on analyzing how the two translators handle phonological rhetorical devices, lexical rhetorical devices and structural rhetorical devices in the poem. The comparison demonstrates that Xu Yuanchong prioritizes poetic aesthetic reproduction, recreating rhyme‑rhythm beauty, implicit imagery and flexible sentence layout, while Yang Xianyi & Gladys Yang stick to literal faithfulness, preserving original semantic information and formal correspondence while giving less weight to poetic musicality. Their divergent translation choices stem from distinct translation purposes and intended audiences. Both versions achieve different balances between rhetorical fidelity and target‑text readability.