“仁”字英译的哲学诠释

A Philosophical Study of the English Interpretation of “Jen”

作为儒学最重要的范畴之一,"仁"在儒学典籍英译本及汉学研究论文中拥有多个形态的英译词。这些英译词呈现出四种解读倾向:德性、情感、人性论及社群化,它们都捕捉到了"仁"之意义的重要维度。但德性解读消隐了"仁"之"孝悌"根基;情感解读消隐了"仁爱"与"亲亲"的关联;人性论解读弱化了"仁"的层级性;社群化解读过度强调了社会结构对于成"仁"的制约。跨语际翻译凸显了"仁"非单一概念所能把握的多义性、情境性。因而"仁"之英译,应走出追寻单一对等词的误区,允许多个译词构成的译词群共同运行在文本中来完成文化传播的使命。

＂Jen＂is a key Confucian concept and it was Confucius who made it really significant and the backbone of Confucianism. The fact that＂Jen＂has been translated into many English terms shows that it is an exceedingly complicated concept. Those English translations,attempting to do justice to as many of the different connotations as possible by adopting existing terms in the system of western philosophy,on the positive side demonstrate certain meaning focus of ＂Jen＂,while on the negative side,make Confucianism as the twin of western philosophy. To the readers in the English world,Confucianism is expected to offer a different view on the world,thus the translation of the crucial Confucian concepts should be constructed through the interaction of the existing English renderings so as to create a kind of philosophical unfamiliarity.