Translators’ 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. Though a 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 previous studies mainly focus on the translations rather than the translators, who play a crucial role in the translating with their subjectivity and creativity. Thus, Giles’, Wang Baotong’s, and Zhao Yanchun’s versions are selected in this thesis for a comparative study on their proper names in terms of five categories of ancient appellation. Through the comparative analysis, three translators’ different cultural stances are found. The result of the analysis shows that, firstly, three translators’ 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 give priority to the meaning first, and place in the second place the stylistic form and the sound.

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

译者表现在专有名词翻译中的文化立场

——《三字经》三个英译本对比分析

摘  要:《三字经》是蒙学读物之一。它短小精悍，三字一句，琅琅上口。其内容包罗甚广，涵盖了道德准则、儒家经典、中国历史、儒家行为典范以及学习方式等诸多方面。这本启蒙教材译本众多，并且引起了广泛的研究。然而，学者多重视对译本的分析研究，而忽视了对译者的研究。译者作为翻译的主体，在翻译过程中发挥着关键的作用。因此，本文选取Giles、王宝童、赵彦春等三个译本作为研究素材，对比三者在古代称谓上翻译的异同，力图发现三位译者在翻译时各自所坚持的文化立场。从这个角度出发，作者最终得出以下结论：1）三位译者在译本的音、形、译上侧重点不同；2）在翻译中国传统文学时，译者首先应该忠实传达原文文化内涵和文化特色，再注重形式的简洁以及音韵的和谐。

关键词：《三字经》；文化立场；专名；译者

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the Research 1

1.2 Significance and Purpose of Research 1

1.3 Methodology of Research 2

1.4 Structure of the Thesis 2

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Overview of Translations of San Zi Jing 3

2.1.1 English Versions of San Zi Jing 3

2.2 Previous Researches on English Translations 4

2.2.1 Study on Translation Versions 4

2.2.2 Study on Translators 5

2.3 Limitations of Previous Research 6

3. A Comparative Analysis of Three Versions in Proper Names 7

3.1 The Appellation of Ancient Scholars with the Honorific Title of “Zi” 7

3.2 The Appellation of Archaic Monarch 8

3.2.1 Four Titles of Emperors 9

3.2.2 Translating the Four Titles 9

3.3 The Appellation of the Title of Nobility 10

3.4 The Appellation of Officials 11

3.5 The Appellation in Other Forms 13

4. The Study of Translators’ Cultural Stance 15

4.1 Analysis of Three Translators’ Cultural Stance 15

4.2 The Cultural Stance that Translators Should Stick to 16

5. Conclusion 18

5.1 Findings 18

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions 18

References 19

Appendix 20

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Research

With rapid development of society, translation studies in China are faced with different situations. On the one hand, the emergence and prevalence of culture globalization in 21st century accelerates the exchanges of cultures, traditions and values among different countries. As a timed-honored country, Chinese culture, especially traditional Chinese culture and literature have received wide attention. However, it is not easy for foreign readers to understand the strange traditional culture represented by Confucianism. Thus, a lot of translators turn to the simple but far-reaching traditional enlightenment textbooks. San Zi Jing is one of the three basic primers for children in ancient China, including The Hundred Surnames, and The Thousand-character Classic. With the first English translation emerging in 1812, it has been translated into over twenty versions up to now. And a theoretical foundation has been established of the study for these traditional primers for children. On the other hand, since the “cultural turn” of translation and translation study was advocated by Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere in 1990s, Chinese scholars have turned their attention to the relationship of translation and culture. Translation is not only a matter of technical conversion of two languages, but the transformation, interpretation and representation from one culture to another culture. In this context, translators, as the tie and bridge between cultures, are of crucial importance in cultural communication and transmission. In terms of translation studies, they also should be brought into focus and widely studied.