Chinese translation theory
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Chinese translation theory was born out of contact with
The
The
In those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different. To make what was in their minds apprehended, and to communicate their likings and desires, (there were officers), — in the east, called transmitters; in the south, representationists; in the west, Tî-tîs; and in the north, interpreters. (王)[1]
A
The earliest bit of translation theory may be a phrase attributed to Confucius in the Guliang Zhuan: "names should follow their bearers, while things should follow China" (名從主人,物從中國). In other words, names should be transliterated, while things should be translated by meaning.
In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican Period, reformers such as Liang Qichao, Hu Shih and Zhou Zuoren began looking at translation practice and theory of the great translators in Chinese history.
Zhi Qian (3rd century AD)
Zhi Qian's own translations of Buddhist texts are elegant and literary, so the "direct translation" advocated in the anecdote is likely Vighna's position, not Zhi Qian's.
Dao An (314 – 385 AD)
- Changing the SVO.
- Adding literary embellishment where the original is in plain style.
- Eliminating repetitiveness in argumentation and panegyric (頌文).
- Cutting the concluding summary section (義說).
- Cutting the recapitulative material in introductory section.
Dao An criticized other translators for loss in translation, asking: how would they feel if a translator cut out the boring parts of classics like the
He also expanded upon the difficulty of translation, with his theory of the Three Difficulties (三不易):
- Communicating the Dharma to a different audience from the one the Buddha addressed.
- Translating the words of a saint.
- Translating texts which have been painstakingly composed by generations of disciples.
Kumārajīva (344 – 413 AD)
Kumārajīva’s translation practice was to translate for meaning. The story goes that one day Kumārajīva criticized his disciple Sengrui for translating “heaven sees man, and man sees heaven” (天見人,人見天). Kumārajīva felt that “man and heaven connect, the two able to see each other” (人天交接,兩得相見) would be more idiomatic, though heaven sees man, man sees heaven is perfectly idiomatic.
In another tale, Kumārajīva discusses the problem of translating incantations at the end of sutras. In the original there is attention to aesthetics, but the sense of beauty and the literary form (dependent on the particularities of Sanskrit) are lost in translation. It is like chewing up rice and feeding it to people (嚼飯與人).
Huiyuan (334 – 416 AD)
Sengrui (371 – 438 AD)
Sengyou (445 – 518 AD)
Much of the early material of earlier translators was gathered by Sengyou and would have been lost but for him. Sengyou's approach to translation resembles Huiyuan's, in that both saw good translation as the middle way between elegance and plainness. However, unlike Huiyuan, Sengyou expressed admiration for Kumarajiva's elegant translations.
Xuanzang (600 – 664 AD)
Xuanzang’s theory is the Five Untranslatables (五種不翻), or five instances where one should transliterate:
- Secrets: Dhāraṇī 陀羅尼, Sanskrit ritual speech or incantations, which includes mantras.
- Polysemy: Bhagavant 薄伽梵, which means sovereignty, ablaze, solemnity, fame, auspicious, esteemed.[2]
- None in China: jambutree 閻浮樹, which does not grow in China.
- Deference to the past: the translation for anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi is already established as Anouputi 阿耨菩提.
- To inspire respect and righteousness: Prajñā般若 instead of “wisdom” (智慧).
Yan Fu (1898)
Yan Fu is famous for his three-facet theory of translation; namely, faithfulness (信 xìn), be true to the original in spirit; expressiveness (達 dá), be accessible to the target reader; and elegance (雅 yǎ), be in the language the target reader accepts as being educated.
Of the three facets, the first is the most important one. If the meaning of the translated text is not accessible to the reader, there is no difference between having translated the text and not having translated the text at all. In order to facilitate comprehension, word order should be changed, Chinese examples may replace original ones, and even people's names should be rendered Chinese. Yan Fu's theory of translation is based on his experience with translating works of social sciences from English into Chinese. The typical misapplication of the theory is to extend it to the translation of literary works. The two typical misinterpretations of the theory are: (a) interpreting accessibility as clarity or expressiveness, (b) overgeneralizing Yan Fu's specific readership to general readership. According to Yan Fu, good translation is one that is true to the original in spirit, accessible to the target reader in meaning, and attractive to the target reader in style.
Liang Qichao (1920)
Liang Qichao put these three qualities of a translation in the same order, fidelity first, then clarity, and only then elegance.
Lin Yutang (1933)
Lin Yutang stressed the responsibility of the translator to the original, to the reader, and to art. To fulfill this responsibility, the translator needs to meet standards of fidelity (忠實), smoothness (通順) and beauty.
Lu Xun (1935)
Lu Xun's most famous dictum relating to translation is "I'd rather be faithful than smooth" (寧信而不順).
Ai Siqi (1937)
Zhou Zuoren (1944)
Zhou Zuoren assigned weightings, 50% of translation is fidelity, 30% is clarity, and 20% elegance.
Zhu Guangqian (1944)
Fu Lei (1951)
Fu Lei held that translation is like painting: what is essential is not formal resemblance but rather spiritual resemblance (神似).
Qian Zhongshu (1964)
Qian Zhongshu wrote that the highest standard of translation is transformation (化, the power of transformation in nature): bodies are sloughed off, but the spirit (精神), appearance and manner (姿致) are the same as before (故我, the old self).
See also
References
- ^ The Li Ki, "The Royal Regulations", tr. James Legge 1885 Sacred Books of the East vol. 27, pp. 229–230
- ^ 《佛地經論》卷1:「如是一切如來具有於一切種皆不相離,是故如來名薄伽梵。其義云何?謂諸如來永不繫屬諸煩惱故,具自在義。焰猛智火所燒煉故,具熾盛義。妙三十二大士相等所莊飾故,具端嚴義。一切殊勝功德圓滿無不知故,具名稱義。一切世間親近供養咸稱讚故,具吉祥義。具一切德常起方便利益,安樂一切有情無懈廢故,具尊貴義。」(T26, no. 1530, 292a29-b7)
Sources
- A History of Translation Theory in China (Chinese original by Chen Fukang 陳福康.中國譯學理論史稿.上海外語教育出版社)