5．1 Definition of Literary Translation文学翻译的定义
It has been acknowledged for a long time that there exist two large species of translations: documental and scientific translation，and literary translation．Literary translation is a big topic to talk about because people like to put it alone．Before we touch the subject to give any precise definition，we may first ask a closely-related question: What is Literature？Since literary translation is the translation of literature，it is reasonable to assume that the answer of this question will be enlightening to the question we have as the title of this chapter．
So what is literature？Though we may read volumes of books or tons of classics and easily point out that they are literature，it is still helpful to think of the denotation of literature without having concrete things in front．
Obviously，literature has various forms．A book is the common form of literature but a letter also can be．And not every book can rank as literature just as not every letter does．Sometimes there will be some unexpected members fall into the scope of literature，for example，philosophical books like DaoDeJing．Unlike many other Chinese philosophic books dusted on shelf，this Chinese classic is reread again and again for its poetic and ambiguous language and thought-provoking content．Its mysterious philosophic cloak does not prevent it being appreciated and interpreted as a piece of famous literary work．Instead it lends the book written two thousand years ago more life to endure the long passage of time to come yet alive in this fast-changing age．
Thus if we want to seize the essence of literature，form is not the proper standard or to be exactly not the sufficient stick-yard for judgment．Form matters indeed anyhow．The things about genre，that is to say，labels like prose，novel are needed to distinguish literature from non-literature．But sometimes these formal standards are not clear and effective enough to make a clear distinction between yes and no．More often than not，they are not broad enough to include some widely-recognized literary pieces．For instance，the Declaration of Independence can hardly be attributed to any existing category of literature．It is neither prose nor poem，neither drama nor fiction．After all it is regarded as an influential literary and political piece．
Just forget about those formal constrains then．Let＇s get to the core of literature．According to some scholars，the following three qualities constitute what we normally accept as literature:
1．Having language as artistic medium and of imaginative nature;
2．Self-contained as a whole;
3．Preferably with something central to the whole or with a soul in a sense．
In a word，literature is above all an art that attempts to tell the truth by means of language．Remember these literary elements and try to demonstrate them when translating，then we may say it is literary translation．