《中庸》之“道”字英译对比研究

A Comparative Study of the Translations of Dao in Zhongyong

《中庸》开篇提纲挈领地阐述了“性、道、教”三者之间的关系,“道”字在《中庸》中出现67次,是核心概念词之一。儒家经典言简意赅、涵义深刻隐晦,需首先通过史料爬梳、文本细读的方式,以归纳“道”之丰富内涵,再通过对比译文以及副文本,分析3个译本“道”译之差异,最后探究差异产生的深层原因。经对比分析发现3个译文皆无法完整地传达“道”之丰富内涵。因此,建议采用“英文+拼音+汉语”的方式进行翻译,再根据文本具体语境,附以简要注释,既增加译本的可读性,又更精准还原中国儒家典籍,传播中国文化。

The relationship of Xing,Dao,Jiao was elaborated at the very beginning of Zhongyong.Appearing 67 times in Zhongyong,Dao is one of the key terms.Confucian Classics are known to be brief and concise with rich connotations,which require organization of historical materials,extensive text reading,and repeated exploration so as to sort out the rich meanings of Dao.Afterwards,three different translation versions of Dao and the subtexts are compared,the differences are analyzed and finally the deep reasons in them are explored.Through comparison and analysis,it is found that none of the translations conveys the rich connotations of Dao in full extent.Therefore,it is suggested that the approach of“English+Chinese Pinyin+Chinese”should be applied when translating the key terms.Moreover,brief annotations based on context can be attached as paratext so as to increase the readability,regain more exactly the original version of Confucian Classics and spread Chinese culture.