MCLC: Lost Geopoetic Horizon of Li Jieren (2)

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Lost Geopoetic Horizon of Li Jieren (2)
Thank you to Prof. Kristin Stapleton for sharing the info about the new translations of Li Jieren’s 死水微澜 (Ripple on Stagnant Water) by MerwinAsia (2013). Regarding the rendition of “天回镇,” the famous little town depicted in Li’s novel, the translators translated it as Heaven’s Turn. While “天” in classical Chinese does have the connotation of heaven, as a Chengdu native, I remember hearing the legend as a child that 天回镇 was named after the Tang Dynasty emperor 玄宗 (685-762)’s visit to the little town, where he turned his head. Therefore, I was wondering if the 天回 here could be more appropriately translated as Emperor’s Turn or Heaven’s Son’s Turn, as Heaven’s Son would indicate the meaning of 天子，or 天子回头，which seems closer to the local legend of the name. Nevertheless,  I do see that  “Heaven’s Turn” has the virtue of simplicity in it.
Yanshuo Zhang <yanshuo2009 at gmail.com>
by denton.2 at osu.edu on May 19, 2015
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