译意 译情 译美——论文言文英译之三步曲

Translation of Meaning,Reasonableness and Elegance——Three Hierarchies on English Translation of Writing in Classical Chinese

文言文是中华民族的祖先经过几千年的提炼留下的文化精华,是我们了解历史,学习古代文化,欣赏古代文学,研究古代文明的一把钥匙。作为文化传播桥梁的译者,更有责任和义务把这一文明发扬光大,让全世界都对中国古代文化有一个更加清晰的认识。本文从译意、译情、译美的角度探讨了文言文英译的三个步骤,认为译者应该在忠实传达原文风貌的基础上,最大限度地提高译文对目的语读者的可读性和可接受性。

Classical language is our cultural essences left by Chinese ancestors over thousands of years. It is the key to understand our history, learn the ancient culture, appreciate ancient literature and research ancient civilizations. As the bridge of cultural communication, translators have more responsibility and obligation to carry forward our civilizations, so that all over the world would have a clearer understanding on ancient Chinese culture. This paper analyzes the three hierarchies on English translation of writing in classical Chinese from the perspective of the translation of meaning, reasonableness and elegance. The author thinks that translators should improve the readability and acceptability of the target language to the utmost on the basis of conveying the original text faithfully.