关键词: 世界文学理论, 世界诗歌, 翻译研究, 宇文所安

Abstract: Any discussion on the topic of the relation between modern Chinese literature and world literature should trace back to the case of “World Poetry”. In 1990, Harvard professor Stephen Owen wrote a negative review on Bonnie S. McDougall's English translation of Bei Dao's poetry. Owen pointed out the speculative motive and the lack of traditional elements in the writing of modern poetry by Bei Dao and other third world poets. Among many responses, Michelle Yeh examined Owen's unfair evaluation that lies in his dichotomizing China and the West, while Rey Chow using psychoanalysis method to uncover Owen's Orientalism tendency. The close reading of the case of “World Poetry” helps us re-scrutinize issues in the relation between world literature and Chinese literature, and sheds light on the study of world literature in theory.

Key words: world literature in theory, World Poetry, translation studies, Stephen Owen