译介再生中的本土文化和异域宗教：以天主、上帝的汉语译名为视角

Native Culture and Foreign Religion in Translation:From the Angle of the Chinese Terms Tianzhu and Shangdi

《圣经》的中文翻译不仅是语言文字译介的问题,而且涉及西方宗教与中国文化之间的适应和转化,以及如何被中国本土社会所认同。在基督宗教唯一尊神的汉语译名问题上,天主教和基督教产生了长达300年的激烈争论。在西方宗教理念的阐释下,中国传统词汇"天主"、"上帝"逐渐地被基督教化,失去了其原有本土宗教的内涵,再生演变为象征西方文化的新词语。除被天主教和基督教接受外,"上帝"译名还被更大范围的中国本土世俗社会接受。考察译名争议和被接受的过程,可知中国社会从传统向现代转型的过程中,外来新概念及内涵对社会改变所产生的影响力。

Chinese translation of the Bible is not only a question of translation into a different language,but also involves adaptation and transformation between Western religion and Chinese culture,and the way it is recognized by Chinese native society. Catholics and Protestants carried on a dispute for over 300 years over the Chinese translation of the term for the Christian deity. Interpreted using Western religious concepts,the traditional Chinese words Tianzhu and Shangdi were gradually Christianized,losing their native religious meanings and evolving into new words that symbolized Western culture. The translated term'Shangdi'was also widely accepted by Chinese secular society beyond Catholicism and Protestantism. By examining the process by which the term was argued over and eventually accepted,we can understand how foreign new concepts and their connotations influenced changes in society during the process of Chinese society’s transition from a traditional pattern to a modern one.