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Article published In:
Text and Context Revisited Within a Multimodal Framework
Edited by Yves Gambier and Olli Philippe Lautenbacher
[Babel 70:1/2] 2024
► pp. 186–210

Reconstruing the image of Shan Gui

A multimodal translation from poetry to painting

| Xi’an International Studies University
| Xi’an International Studies University

This study aims to investigate the image reconstrual of Shan Gui 山鬼 in the multimodal translation from the poem Shan Gui to three renowned paintings, i.e., Li Gonglin’s 李公麟 (date unknown; 1049–1106), Fu Baoshi’s 傅抱石’s (1945) and Xu Beihong’s 徐悲鸿 (1943), within the framework of social semiotics, and to explore the reason why the image changed through recontextualization. It is found that the image of Shan Gui reconstrued by Li looks like a detached sprite; Fu is a sentimental goddess, while Xu is a mundane human girl. Contextual factors, including scholastic explanations of the poem, the individual orientation of painters, and their media choices, contribute to such image divergence.

Keywords: Shan Gui, image reconstrual, multimodal translation, poetry, painting, social semiotics, recontextualization
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Social Semiotics: An interpersonal/interactive perspective in SFG and VG
    • 2.1Interpersonal meaning in SFG
    • 2.2Interactive meaning in VG
  • 3.Data collection
  • 4.Image reconstrual of Shan Gui from poetry to painting
    • 4.1Image of Shan Gui in the poem
    • 4.2Images of Shan Gui in three paintings
      • 4.2.1Li’s Shan Gui: A detached sprite
      • 4.2.2Fu’s Shan Gui: A sentimental goddess
      • 4.2.3Xu’s Shan Gui: A mundane girl
  • 5.Contextual consideration
    • 5.1Scholastic explanation
    • 5.2Individual orientation
    • 5.3Media forms
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 January 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00380.wan
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