قصيدة «البردة» للإمام البوصيري مفتاح لترجمة الأدب العربي في الصين

The Poem “Al Burda” by Imam Al-Busairi is a key to the translation of the Arabic literature in China

Abstract

Qasidat al-Burdah (Arabic: قصيدة البردة)‎, known in English as the ‘Poem of the Cloak’ is also called ‘Glittering Stars in Praise of the Best of Creation’. It is the most famous work of Imam Sharaf ad-Din al-Busiri in praise of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), it’s about 160 to 165 lines long and consists of ten chapters. In the anthology of Arabic poems, the Qasidat al-Burdah has had a great impact upon the history of the qasida genre as a whole. No other Arabic poem has been more frequently recited, translated, imitated or commented upon in so many languages of the Islamic world. It has been translated into all languages of great cultures, has also been translated into local dialects in Africa, Southeast Asia. This article mainly introduces the history of Chinese translation of this poem and its importance and impact in Chinese Arabic literature.According to historical records that the Arabic literature was unknown to the Chinese until the poem “Al Burdah” by Imam Al- Busiri was translated into Chinese at the end of the nineteenth century except for the Holy Qur’an and religious books. The translation of Al-Burdah is considered not only to be one of the earliest Arabic literary works to be translated into Chinese, but also to be the first ancient Arabic literary work to be translated into Chinese. Its Chinese translation work has improved the Chinese -Islamic translation library and at same time opened the prelude of China-Arab literary translation.