ArticleProfiles in Translation and Intercultural Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.10.032
The Application of Intertextuality Theories in the English Translation of Chinese Modernist Poetry: A Case Study of the Poetry Collection Garden of Mysteries
Miao Li
Foreign Language Department, North China Institute of Science and Technology, Beijing 065201, China.
*Corresponding author: Miao Li
Published: October 31,2025
Abstract
Intertextuality theories provide a powerful theoretical tool for deconstructing and interpreting the complexities involved in the English translation of Chinese modernist poetry. This paper takes Yan Xi’s poetry collection Garden of Mysteries as its corpus. Firstly, employing Gérard Genette’s theoretical framework, it analyzes and identifies the intertextual features of the micro-texts within the collection from the perspectives of intertextuality, paratextuality, and architextuality. Then, utilizing the framework established by Hatim and Mason, it assesses the “knowledge base differences” between the source and target languages, weighing the selection of intertextuality translation strategies from the angles of cultural default, textual world differences, and differences in recipients’ knowledge structures. The paper not only focuses on explicit cultural allusions and the compen-satory function of paratexts, but also delves into the structural intertextuality of modern poetry, thereby revealing how translators, in the global context, can construct a cross-cultural “Mystery Garden” for Chinese modernist poetry for over-seas reception. The case study of translating Garden of Mysteries is not only a specific application of this theory but also an exploration and deepening of the theory and practice of translating Chinese modernist poetry, aiming to provide richer theoretical perspectives for academic discussions in related fields.
Keywords
Intertextuality; Chinese Modernist Poetry; English Translation; Translation Strate-gies
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How to cite this paper
The Application of Intertextuality Theories in the English Translation of Chinese Modernist Poetry: A Case Study of the Poetry Collection Garden of Mysteries
How to cite this paper: Miao Li. (2025). The Application of Intertextuality Theories in the English Translation of Chinese Modernist Poetry: A Case Study of the Poetry Collection Garden of Mysteries. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 1(3), 587-592.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.10.032