Translators Cultural Stance as Manifested in Translating Proper Names: A Comparative Analysis of Three English Versions of “Sanzijing”文献综述

 2022-08-15 10:46:17

Translatorsrsquo; Cultural Stance as Manifested in Translating Proper Names: A Comparative Analysis of Three English Versions of San Zi Jing

Abstract：San Zi Jing is one of the basic traditional Chinese primers for children. With the short and simple text in three-character verse, it gives a panoramic view of ethic codes, Confucian canons, Chinese history, exemplary Confucian behaviors, and the way of learning. It has been translated into over twenty English versions up to now, on which many researches have been conducted. However, the former studies mainly focus on the translations rather than the translators who play a crucial role in the translating process with their subjectivity and creativity. Thus, Gilesrsquo;, Wang Baotongrsquo;s, and Zhao Yanchunrsquo;s versions are selected in this thesis for a comparative study on proper names from five categories of ancient appellation. Through the comparative analysis, three translatorsrsquo; different cultural stances are found. The result of the analysis shows that, firstly, three translatorsrsquo; cultural stance can be illustrated by ranking their emphasis on three features of the translation: sound, stylistic form and meaning; secondly, when translating the traditional Chinese Literature, the translators should put the meaning first, and then pay attention to stylistic form and the sound.

Keywords: San Zi Jing; cultural stance; proper name; translator

Literature Review

With raising awareness of studying traditional Chinese culture, there has been a lot of researches on San Zi Jing. And in this section a literature review of translations of San Zi Jing as well as the study on English translations will be introduced briefly.

1.1 Overview of Translations of San Zi Jing

San Zi Jing has spread abroad since Ming Dynasty. And as for the record, the earliest translation can date back to the 16th century, translated into Latin by the Italian preacher, Michele Ruggieri, (1543-1607) for the first time. In 1829, the book was translated into Russian by Biqiulin, “The father of Russian Sinology”, and was regarded as “encyclopedia of the 12th century”. In France, Julienrsquo;s version was the most far-reaching one and received great popularity. Asian countries also attached great significance to this traditional Chinese enlightened reading material. And in 1989, the English version by Pan Shizi became textbook in Singapore. The following year it was included into The World Childrenrsquo;s Morality Series by UNESCO, as a world-known enlightenment book.

1.1.1 English Versions of San Zi Jing

Owing to popularization of English language, there are up to dozen different English versions of San Zi Jing, which are finished both by domestic and foreign translators. Herbert Allan Giles (1845-1935), Robert Morrison (1782-1834), Elijah Coleman Bridgeman (1801-1861), and E. J. Eitel (1838-1908) are all committed to the English translation of San Zi Jing during the late Qing Dynasty. Among these foreign translators, Giles makes his version exert a great impact on readers for a long time. With the globalization and transmission of ideas, domestic translators set their sights back to the translation of traditional classics. Hence more English versions of San Zi Jing are accessible to readers, among which, Pan Shizirsquo;s, Meng Fanjunrsquo;s, Wang Baotongrsquo;s and Zhao Yanchunrsquo;s versions are influential and merit a further research.

1.1.1.1 Introduction to Gilesrsquo;, Wang Baotongrsquo;s and Zhao Yanchunrsquo;s Versions

Gilesrsquo; version is not only the translation of San Zi Jing, but also includes a comparative analysis of other foreign translatorsrsquo; versions. From this angle, his version can be considered as a comparative study source of great value in era. Meanwhile, on account of differences between two language cultures, Gilesrsquo; version aims to make the foreign readers understand the meaning of the original but ignores the distinctive features of San Zi Jing. He is incapable of handing the patterns of rhythm and rhyme and keeping the continuity of translation. Whatrsquo;s more, some misinterpretations in terms of syntactic structure can be found in Gilesrsquo; version.

Compared with Gilesrsquo; version, Wang Baotong is more skillful in the sense of rhythm and rhyme. His version basically follows the rhythm of original text, a recurring of the beauty of speech. Wang also makes great efforts to express the meaning with precise English words, which makes his version more readable.

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