(Essential Questions) Translator's Words|Short Comment: Classic Retranslation: "Betrayed Again" or "Inheritance of Beauty"?

  China News Service, Beijing, December 19th, title: Classic Retranslation: "Betrayed Again" or "Inheritance of Beauty"?

  China News Agency reporter Wen Longjie

  Classical retranslation is a frequently talked-about topic, and it has received special attention from the translation community in recent years.

Shakespeare, Balzac, Tolstoy, these world-class writers have classic translations in China, is it necessary to retranslate?

In April 2021, a Chinese translation of Shakespeare's classic works displayed in a book city in Shenyang, Liaoning.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Haiyang

  Needless to say, the importance of translation.

Human beings are able to communicate by means of the "media" of translation, and thought and culture flow because of the "communication" of translation.

  However, there are pros and cons in translation. Those who are faithful and elegant can be "discovery rods", and those who are bad are "discovery obstacles".

Undoubtedly, erroneous and poor translations must be retranslated. Whether the classic version is necessary or not depends on everyone.

  Opponents believe that the classic version is faithful to the original, with fewer errors, and the pearls and jade are first, and retranslation is a waste of resources. Proponents believe that many classic translations are no longer ironed after reading, and some words even "feel weird". It is necessary to retranslate.

  In fact, this controversy arises from the uniqueness of the interlingual practice of translation.

Modern linguistics believes that language can be divided into two parts, namely the sign (form) as the signifier and the meaning (content) as the signifier.

  Translation is by no means simply converting "ABCD" into "A, B, C, D". In addition to the transformation of symbols such as phonetics and character (word) form in form, it is more difficult to "displace" the content, and the latter involves the language carried. The knowledge and the cultural background and ideological system behind the knowledge.

In 2019, Wu Hengcan, chairman of the Malaysian Chinese Cultural Center, displayed the "Four Classics" of Chinese classics that the center has translated in nearly 30 years.

He stated that different civilizations must first communicate "acquaintance" in order to enhance understanding, and then merge with each other to create new cultural achievements.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue

  Practice shows that it is impossible for one language to completely copy another language.

Qian Zhongshu said, “There must be a distance between the characters of one country and the characters of another country. The understanding and writing style of the translator is different from the content and form of the original work. Moreover, the translator’s understanding and his own expressive ability are different. It’s often different from time to time."

  Therefore, there is always "separation" and "differentness" between the translated work and the original work. Therefore, there is also a proverb in Italy that "translation is betrayal".

  However, it is this kind of "separation" and "variance" that gives translators the space to play. Despite the shackles, they can still dance and dance, thus making translation possible as a unique art.

To put it bluntly, the original works as shackles are certain, but the translator can dance with different atmospheres due to the different time and circumstances.

  The theory of time and context is the era.

Marxist theory of literature and art believes that literary creation cannot be separated from the historical conditions of the time.

Li Zehou bluntly said that in the creation of beauty, each era should have its own new works.

As Chernyshevsky said, Shakespeare cannot replace today's work.

Although translation is not as obvious as literature, it is clear that there must be a generation of translation style.

In April 2021, the new book launch conference of "The Complete Works of Xu Yuanchong's Chinese Translation of Classics" will be held in Beijing.

Xu Yuanchong talked about his attitude towards translation and creation, which is to "be beautiful", and to pursue the beauty of language and language and the beauty of translation.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang

  "There is no scenery in front of you, and Cui Hao's poem is on the top." The classic version undoubtedly has its own charm of penetrating the times, which is the unity and inheritance of aesthetics.

However, if no one dipped in ink after the Lanting Pavilion, Shulin would inevitably be boring; no one after the Red Mansion would show up the scrolls, and the literary world would be dying.

Retranslation may not surpass the classics, but its aesthetic contemporary significance cannot be replaced.

  "Discussing life between unwillingness and having to", this commentary on translation is also applicable to retranslation: in relation to the classics, it is "unquestionable", and in terms of responsiveness, it is "have to".

  In the discussion of "whether it is necessary", the "practice" of retranslation is proceeding in accordance with its own historical logic.

This means that the dialectics of aesthetic unity and contemporariness has its own driving force to push history forward.

(Finish)