





































Education, Language and Sociology Research 

ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 6, No. 2, 2025 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr 

66 
 

Original Paper 

Translation Ideology of the Crescent Moon School: A Case 

Study of Lin Huiyin’s Chinese Version of The Nightingale and 

the Rose 

Fan Yan1 

1 Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, China 

 

Received: April 1, 2025       Accepted: April 22, 2025     Online Published: May 6, 2025 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v6n2p66       URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v6n2p66 

 

Abstract 

This study analyzes Lin Huiyin’s translation of The Nightingale and the Rose to explore the translation 

ideology of the Crescent Moon School from three aspects: translation selection, translation strategy, and 

translation language, addressing two key questions: First, the school’s translation selection criteria, 

which favored classic works, especially poetry, reflecting high literary standards; and second, its 

translation strategies, combining domestication and foreignization, resulting in a balance between 

preserving literary integrity and enhancing readability. Influenced by the New Culture Movement, these 

practices also exhibited unique poetic qualities. 

Keywords 

Crescent Moon School, translation ideology, Lin Huiyin 

 

The May Fourth Movement of 1919 holds profound significance in the long river of Chinese history, 

marking a new chapter in China’s historical development. As a great patriotic revolutionary movement, 

it has had an all-round impact on China society. This kind of influence was not only political, but also 

challenges the traditional ideas that have been entrenched in China society for a long time in thought and 

culture. With the influx of a large number of foreign literary works into China, translated literature 

gradually occupied a key position in the literary system. The Crescent Moon School did not follow the 

mainstream literature to serve the revolution during the ideological differentiation of Chinese modern 

intellectuals in the 1920s. Instead, it continued to adhere to the enlightenment ideas of the May Fourth 

Movement, pursuing intellectual independence and artistic integrity. There are two tendencies in the 

theory of Crescent School: on the one hand, Liang Shiqiu, as the representative, advocates that literature 

should express human nature, meet the standards of norms and balance, and has a distinct neo-classical 



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tendency; On the other hand, Xu Zhimo, as the representative, advocated that literature should express 

inspiration and write about the beauty of life and nature, which has a typical romantic tone. 

In 1921, Lin traveled to Europe with her father and met Xu Zhimo, who was studying in the UK at that 

time. The two often communicated through letters. Influenced by Xu Zhimo, Lin Huiyin developed a 

great interest in poetry and actively participated in the activities of the Crescent Moon Society. However, 

although Lin Huiyin was widely recognized for her achievements in architecture and literature, her 

identity as a translator received less attention due to her limited number of translated works. It is generally 

accepted in academic circles that Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose is Lin’s only translation, and she 

is also the first female translator of this work. Before the publication of Lin’s translation, The Nightingale 

and the Rose had two versions in China: Hu Yuzhi’s Oriole and the Rose (1920) and Mu Tianmu’s Oriole 

and the Rose (1922). The following year (1923), Lin translated it into Chinese and published it in the 

special issue of the fifth anniversary of Morning Post, which was later widely adopted by domestic 

translators. Lin’s translation mainly adopts vernacular Chinese, including a small amount of classical 

Chinese terms. 

Current studies on the Crescent Moon School have the following limitations. First, the study of the 

Crescent School have been stagnant until 1980s (Huang, 2013, p. 75). Second, studies at the Crescent 

Moon School mainly focus on poetry, with less attention to fiction and insufficient connection to 

translation. Third, case studies within the Crescent Moon School primarily concentrate on figures such 

as Liang Shiqiu, Hu Shi, and Xu Zhimo, with relatively few studies on Lin Huiyin. Therefore, this paper 

will take Lin Huiyin’s translation of The Nightingale and the Rose as a reference for analysis, compare 

the translation with the original text, and discuss the translation ideology of the Crescent Moon School 

in the context of its historical background. The specific research questions are as follows. 

1) What are the characteristics of the Crescent Moon School’s translation selection? 

2) What translation strategies did the Crescent Moon School adopt, and what linguistic features did 

these strategies lead to? 

 

1. Translation Selection of the Crescent Moon School 

Before engaging in an analysis of the translation ideology of the Crescent Moon School, it is imperative 

to delineate the temporal boundaries of this literary movement. Scholarly consensus regarding the 

inception and culmination of the Crescent Moon School remains elusive. A prevailing perspective posits 

that the movement originated with the establishment of the Crescent Moon Society and concluded with 

the discontinuation of the Crescent Moon monthly periodical. However, this view essentially conflates 

the Crescent Moon School with a literary organization, neglecting the broader ideological and aesthetic 

underpinnings that characterized its development. 

In actuality, the Crescent Moon School emerged as a significant literary movement due to a confluence 

of organizational efforts, publication activities, and most crucially, its distinctive aesthetic and creative 

philosophies. Tracing the intellectual trajectory reveals that the movement’s ideological cohesion 



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predated the formal establishment of the Crescent Moon Society. Moreover, even after the publication of 

the Crescent Moon magazine, the core principles of the movement persisted, which was proved by the 

subsequent publication of the Academic Culture magazine. Therefore, the temporal span of the Crescent 

Moon School should not be limited to the existence of the society and its eponymous magazine but should 

be determined by the overall evaluation of its literary efforts and ideological framework (Huang, 2013, 

p. 39). 

For the purposes of this study, the temporal scope of the Crescent Moon School is defined as the literary 

activities of Tsinghua students, including Wen Yiduo, at home and abroad, and the closure of the 

Academic Culture magazine. This expanded time frame also proves that the translations published by the 

Crescent Moon Bookstore, founded in 1927, elucidates the translation selection criteria during the early 

stages of the Crescent Moon Society in 1923. The core membership of the Crescent Moon School, 

comprising figures such as Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo, Wen Yiduo, Liang Shiqiu, Lin Huiyin, Chen Mengjia, and 

Luo Longji, were instrumental in shaping its translation activities. This paper aims to distill the 

overarching translation ideology of the Crescent Moon School by scrutinizing the translation 

philosophies of these key members. 

Factors influencing translation selection encompass the translator’s aesthetic predilections, cultural 

biases, and political orientations, among others. However, the predominant factor shaping the Crescent 

Moon School’s translation selection was its literary ideology. In terms of translation selection, the 

Crescent Moon School prioritized the translation of canonical literary works (Huang, 2017, p. 128). In a 

1916 correspondence to Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, a key figure of the Crescent Moon School, articulated that 

the introduction of Western masterpieces would provide Chinese literati with models for emulation and 

observation, thereby facilitating the creation of new literature (Li & Zhao, 2009, p. 68). In April 1918, 

Hu Shi further advocated in his Constructive Theory of Literary Revolution for the exclusive translation 

of works by distinguished authors, eschewing those of secondary or inferior quality. In his essay On 

Translation, he championed the translation of British and American literary masterpieces, cautioning 

against the superfluous retranslation of works (Huang, 2017, p. 128). Liang Shiqiu contended that 

translations should focus on canonical works embodying universal human values. In his The Romantic 

Trend in Modern Chinese Literature, he posited that translation constituted a pivotal pillar of the New 

Literature Movement. He observed that translators often approached foreign works with a romantic, 

rather than rational, attitude, resulting in capricious and emotionally driven selections. Consequently, 

third- and fourth-rate foreign works were frequently imported into China, revered as treasures, and 

indiscriminately imitated (Liang, 1997, p. 11). Huang Libo (2010) analyzed the works published in the 

Crescent Moon journal and revealed that the majority of the translators within the Crescent Moon group 

had studied in various European countries. As a result, the translated works in the journal predominantly 

featured European and American literature, with a focus on popular genres, diverging from the 

revolutionary selection criteria of other left-wing writers’ publications at the time. In terms of genre, the 

Crescent Moon School prioritized the translation of British Romantic poetry, French Symbolist poetry, 



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and 20th-century British Modernist poetry. According to Huang Hongchun’s statistics, among the 24 

translated works published by the Crescent Moon Bookstore, approximately 11 were literary; of the 110 

translated pieces published in Crescent Moon, 91 were literary, comprising 42 poems, 23 short stories, 

17 essays, and 9 plays (Huang, 2017, p. 128). 

During the May Fourth Movement, the banner of “literature of humanity” was raised high, with this type 

of literature primarily manifesting as a pursuit of individual freedom and liberation. Influential Western 

authors of the time included Byron, Shelley, Rousseau, Goethe, Nietzsche, Whitman, and Wilde, all of 

whom were individualists rich in a spirit of rebellion and defiance. Lin Huiyin, a key figure of the 

Crescent Moon School, chose to translate Wilde’s works for two main reasons. First, she was influenced 

by Chen Duxiu, who had listed several renowned authors in New Youth, advocating the translation of 

Western literary masterpieces into China, with Wilde among them. Second, Lin Huiyin’s travels in 

Europe with her father provided her with favorable conditions to absorb more authentic Western dream. 

During this period, influenced by a female architect, she resolved to pursue architecture as a lifelong 

career. Despite the rarity of female architects at the time and the fact that the University of Pennsylvania’s 

architecture department did not admit women, she ingeniously realized her ideal by enrolling in 

architecture courses. This act alone was sufficient to demonstrate Lin Huiyin’s spirit of rebellion. Wilde, 

with his unique anti-traditional stance as a dandy of aestheticism, challenged and subverted the stale 

mindset and modes of expression of the Victorian masses (Li, 2003, p. 61), which coincided with Lin 

Huiyin’s rebellious spirit. In 1932, the renowned American biologist John Fairbank and his wife Wilma 

traveled to China to study, where they met Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, forming a deep friendship. In 

her 1994 work Liang and Lin: Partners in Exploring China’s Architectural History, Wilma Fairbank 

stated that Lin Huiyin’s involvement with the Crescent Moon Society marked the beginning of her 

writing career... However, according to Sicheng, her first published work was a translation of Oscar 

Wilde’s romantic prose poem: The Nightingale and the Rose. I do not know where it was published, but 

it was likely in the literary supplement of a newspaper in Beijing or Tianjin, which were important venues 

for the early members of the Crescent Moon Society (Wilma Fairbank, 1997, p. 21). This statement was 

later confirmed. Professor Chen Xueyong, using the pen name “Chicui” from Lin Huiyin’s 1931 inclusion 

in the Crescent Moon Poetry Selection as a clue, discovered Lin’s translation of The Nightingale and the 

Rose in the Morning Post 5th Anniversary Special Issue (Chen, 1997, p. 35). 

 

2. Translation Strategies of the Crescent Moon School 

Xiong Bing (2014) posits that translation strategies constitute a set of principles and adopted solutions 

designed to achieve specific translational objectives within the translation process. Based on the 

translator’s orientation towards either the source text and its author or the translation receiver during the 

translation process, translation strategies can be categorized into domestication and foreignization (Xiong, 

2014, p. 84). 



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In 1898, Yan Fu proposed the renowned translation standards of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and 

elegance” in his preface to the translation of On the Origin of Species, titled On Translation. Yan Fu 

stated that there are three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance (Yan, 2002, 

p. 10). In Yan Fu’s translation philosophy, “faithfulness” refers to the accurate representation of the 

original text without distortion or addition/subtraction of its meaning; “expressiveness” means that the 

translation should not be overly bound by the form of the original text and should be comprehensible and 

easily understood by readers; “elegance” pertains to the use of classical Chinese (Shen, 1998, p. 65). 

However, the Crescent Moon School argued that the translation standards of faithfulness, expressiveness, 

and elegance should be viewed dialectically. Chen Xiying (1929), a representative figure of the Crescent 

Moon School, severely criticized Yan Fu’s translation standards in his essay On Translation, pointing out 

that in translating literary works, elegant or similar words are not only superfluous but also a great taboo 

for translators. He argued that Yan Fu’s constant preoccupation with the ancient elegance of pre-Qin and 

Han texts obscured his vision of the clarity and conciseness of Mill and the readability of Huxley. As a 

result, the translated text became extremely difficult to comprehend, not only failing to reflect the original 

style but also causing readers great difficulty (Guan, 2018, p. 146). Chen Xiying believed that different 

translation standards should be applied to different genres and types of works. For non-literary works, 

achieving “expressiveness” is sufficient without the need to focus on the style of writing. “Expressiveness” 

is also not suitable for all literary works. Symbolist and expressionist works, which are inherently obscure, 

should not be forced to conform to the standard of “expressiveness,” as this would lead to 

misinterpretation. “Elegance” should only be required of works that are originally elegant. To achieve 

“faithfulness,” translators must possess the ability to understand the original text and be able to move 

beyond mere formal and semantic resemblance to achieve a spiritual similarity. Therefore, translators 

should not set a standard for themselves before translating, whether it be elegance, expressiveness, 

antiquity, accessibility, beauty, or simplicity, but rather use the standard of the original text as their own 

(Huang, 2013, p. 198). Another representative of the Crescent Moon School, Liang Shiqiu, affirmed the 

standard of “faithfulness” but opposed the view of preferring faithfulness over smoothness. He also 

opposed the justification of Europeanization as an excuse for not striving for smooth and comprehensible 

language, arguing that both faithfulness without smoothness and smoothness without faithfulness are 

equally problematic (Huang, 2013, p. 198). 

Under the guidance of a translation strategy that combines domestication and foreignization, and 

influenced by the New Culture Movement and the Vernacular Language Movement, the translation 

language of the Crescent Moon School developed unique characteristics. First and foremost, the Crescent 

Moon School insisted on the unity of content and style in translation. In her analysis of the translation 

philosophies of two prominent Crescent Moon translators, Liang Shiqiu and Xu Zhimo, in A Comparative 

Study of the Translation Theories of Liang Shiqiu and Xu Zhimo, Liao Hong concluded that Liang Shiqiu 

believed the standard of perfect translation is the unity of faithfulness and expressiveness, that is, being 

faithful to the content and style of the original text while ensuring the reader’s comprehension; Xu Zhimo 



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argued that the standard of translation is the combination of spirit and form, which means retaining both 

the style and the content and form of the original. Both believed that translation is a form of creation that 

should incorporate the translator’s personal style (Liao, 2011, p. 68). This is reflected in Lin Huiyin’s 

translations. The Nightingale and the Rose, a fairy tale by the British Aesthetic writer Oscar Wilde, is 

primarily intended for children. Therefore, Lin Huiyin consciously adapted and abridged the original 

work during the translation process to make the language style of the translation more accessible to child 

readers. 

Example 1: 

Source Text: “Why is he weeping?” asked a little Green Lizard, as he ran past him with his tail in the air. 

Lin’s Version: “他为什么哭泣呀？”绿色的小壁虎，竖起尾巴从他身前跑过。 

Lin Huiyin translated the “Green Lizard” in the original text as “绿色的小壁虎” (green little gecko), 

which adds a touch of childlike charm to the translation but is evidently not scientifically accurate. 

Strictly speaking, “lizard” refers to “蜥蜴” (lizard), although it can also mean “壁虎” (gecko), these two 

animals are not interchangeable. In fact, lizards encompass all animals within the order Squamata, while 

geckos are specifically animals within the Gekkonidae family of the order Squamata. Therefore, Lin 

Huiyin’s translation effectively narrows down the meaning of “lizard”. However, we cannot definitively 

conclude that the “lizard” here does not refer to a gecko. 

Lin Huiyin was from Fujian Province and moved to the capital with her father during her childhood. 

Lizards are primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, and within China, they are mainly 

found in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang. These places have diverse living environments 

and are home to a rich variety of lizard species. Therefore, we can infer that if Lin Huiyin had encountered 

lizards, it was most likely in Fujian. Upon verification, the lizard species found in Fujian Province include 

the Hengchun Grass Lizard, Xueshan Grass Lizard, and Hainan Keeled Lizard, none of which are geckos. 

In fact, the “Green Lizard” refers to a chordate animal widely distributed in Eastern European countries, 

with the Chinese name “绿蜥” (Green Lizard). However, Lin Huiyin might have considered the special 

reader group of children and thus chose the more familiar “壁虎” (gecko) to Chinese people, instead of 

the rarer “蜥蜴” (lizard) or the more specialized term “绿蜥” (Green Lizard). 

Example 2: 

Source Text: “The musicians will sit in their gallery,” said the young Student, “and play upon their 

stringed instruments, and my love will dance to the sound of the harp and the violin. She will dance so 

lightly that her feet will not touch the floor, and the countries in their gay dresses will throng round her…” 

Lin’s Version: 青年学生说：”乐师将在舞会上弹弄丝竹，我那爱人也将随着弦琴的音乐声翩翩起

舞，神采飞扬，风华绝代，莲步都不曾着地似的……” 

In Oscar Wilde’s writing, the term “stringed instrument” refers to Western string instruments, primarily 

including the harp, guitar, and violin. The Chinese translation “丝竹” (sizhu), however, has two layers 

of meaning. In a broad sense, “丝竹” refers to “music,” as seen in the phrase “无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍

之劳形”. In a narrow sense, “丝竹” specifically denotes traditional Han Chinese string and bamboo wind 



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instruments, mainly comprising the guqin, se, xiao, and flute. Clearly, Wilde’s “stringed instrument” here 

refers to the harp and violin. However, on the one hand, to enhance the readability of the text and, on the 

other hand, to align with the character image of the “young student” as a well-read scholar, Lin Huiyin 

chose the more elegant term “丝竹.” 

Moreover, Lin Huiyin translated the word “dance” from the original text into three four-character phrases, 

which are strictly regulated in terms of prosody and have a neat structure, imbuing the translation with 

musicality. This reflects the Crescent Moon School’s shared pursuit of formal rhythm in the translation 

of novels, as well as in the translation and creation of poetry. 

 

3. Conclusion 

The Crescent Moon School is an important literary movement in modern Chinese literary history that 

emerged after the May Fourth Movement. This study explores the translation ideology of the Crescent 

Moon School by analyzing Lin Huiyin’s translation of The Nightingale and the Rose, focusing on three 

aspects: translation selection, translation strategy, and translation language. In terms of translation 

selection, the Crescent Moon School emphasized the translation of classic literary works and advocated 

against translating works of second-rate quality. In terms of genre, the school prioritized the translation 

of poetry, followed by fiction, prose, and drama. Lin Huiyin’s choice to translate Oscar Wilde’s works 

was influenced by both her personal experiences and Wilde’s unique status during the May Fourth period. 

As a nonconformist rich in rebellious spirit, Wilde embodied the ideals of “literature of humanity” that 

were prevalent at the time and served as a model for the youth. Regarding translation strategy, Crescent 

Moon translators advocated a combination of domestication and foreignization. They did not fully 

endorse Yan Fu’s translation principles of “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance,” arguing that 

different translation standards should be applied to different genres and types of works. Influenced by 

this strategy, the translation language of the Crescent Moon School insisted on the unity of content and 

style, viewing translation as a form of creation that should incorporate the translator’s personal style. 

This granted translators a degree of freedom, primarily manifested in adaptation and abridgment. At the 

same time, influenced by the New Culture Movement and the Vernacular Language Movement, the 

translation language not only possessed the unique poetic characteristics of the Crescent Moon School 

but was also easy to understand. 

 

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Translation Debate in the Literary Circle around 1930s. Journal of Guizhou University (Social 

Sciences Edition), 36(4), 144-150. 



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