作为翻译原则和方法的“推己及人”与“能近取譬”——以宇文所安的曹丕《典论·论文》英译为例

“Extending Our Self-examination to Others” and “Drawing on What Is at Hand” as a Translation Principle and Method:A Case Study of Steven Owen's English Version of “On Writing” in On Classics Written by Cao Pi

因汉语的特点,汉译英之中不可避免要处理钱锺书所说的"人化或生命化",其中牵涉儒家的"恕道"。而"推己及人"作为一种方法运用于翻译,在思想上重视的是善于"体贴":如何转化原作之中的意涵和形象,而表现在形式上则需要"能近取譬",亦即如何以具体、具象的方式传递其中的信息。宇文所安所作的曹丕《典论·论文》英译因背离了这两方面的要求,因而,其译文多有差池。

Due to the most outstanding feature of Chinese, the animism discussed by Qian Zhongshu has to be dealt with in the translation from the language into English in which the Confucian principle of reciprocity（恕道） is involved. Such an ＂extending our self-examination to others＂（推己及人） as a method applied to translation asks for an attention to the ＂experiencing＂（体贴） of how to transform the implications and images implicated in the original Chinese text and in what way as to ＂draw on what is at hand＂（能近取譬） in the linguistic sense, that is, how to convey the information into the target text in concrete terms embodying the original. Seen from this perspective, there is much to be desired in Steven Owen’s translation of ＂On Writing＂（《论文》） in On Classics（《典论》） written by Cao Pi.