尉小雪

abstract：these paper contrast the two different english translation versions to appreciate the seven-word poetry which is the most compact form of ancient chinese poetry-watching the cataract on lushan mountain，which is the masterpiece of li bai，a well-known poet in china.the paper focuses on the textual characteristics of seven-word poetry and makes analysis and draws some valuable conclusions.

key words：translation;three beauty theory;contrast;social background

1.introduction

under the guidance of translation theories，the literary translation in china has made a great progress in the last decades.among these theories，the faithfulness，expressiveness and elegance advocated by yan fu，the similaritys raised by fu lei and the transmigration of qian zhongshu are especially popular.

watching the cataract on lushan mountain is the masterpiece of li bai，a well-known poet in china（liu zhongde，1995）.it is selected in chinese textbook of primary school，giving enlightenments to students from generation to generation.xu yuanchong and wang shouyi，two outstanding translators in china，translated watching the cataract on lushan mountain in english respectively.

ii.theoretical basis

translation theorists have put forward a variety of principles.peter newmark holds that in communicative translation，the translation unit can be sentence，paragraph or even the whole text（newmark，2001：128）.translator yan fu put forward the triple translation criteria：faithfulness，expressiveness and elegance（ye zinan，2001：153）.

iii.the comparison of two english translation versions

we can contrast their differences from the perspective of form，person，words and styles.

1.comparison from the perspective of form

a.xu yuanchongs translation is 4 line，and the line number is the same with the poem.

cataract on mount lu

the sunlit censer peak exhales a wreath of cloud.

like an upended stream the cataract sounds loud.

its torrent dashes down three thousand feet from high.

as if the silver river fell from the blue sky.

translated by xu yuanchong

b.wang shouyis translation is 8 line，and the line number is the two times of the poem.

watching the lu mountain falls

purple smoke rises from the mountaintop.

far away i see the valley stretching before me，

he whole waterfall hangs there.

the torrent dropping from thousand feet.

straight down to the valley floor.