《中国传统政治文化讲录》中“仁”的英译路径探析

An Investigation of the English Translation of “Ren”in Lectures on China’s Traditional Political Thoughts

“仁”是重要的文化负载词,是儒家思想重要概念之一。徐大同所著《中国传统政治文化讲录》涉及16条含“仁”引文,对应52条影响较大的英译文。在回顾“仁”的英译研究的基础上,对这52条英译文进行统计与分析,结果发现:“仁”的英译呈现不均衡样态,译者对于“仁”的译法不尽统一,对“仁”英译核心词项的词性选择不尽统一,对“仁”的典型译法呈现本土学者或海外学者的非典型分布的特征。笔者结合“仁”的英译核心词项的词源学释义,探索“仁”的英译规律,同时指出,采用音译法翻译“仁”是当下提升国际学术话语权、让世界了解“哲学社会科学中的中国”的重要路径,为“仁”在英语国家主流传播渠道的恰当翻译提供实践启示。

“Ren”,as an important loaded word rich in Chinese cultures,is one of the key concepts of Confucianism.Lectures on China’s Traditional Political Thoughts written by Xu Datong covers 16 quotes with“Ren”,which correspond to 52 influential English translations.Based on a review of the English translation studies of“Ren”,this paper makes a statistical analysis of the 52 English translations of such quotes.Results show that the English translations of“Ren”are imbalanced,the same translator’s translations of“Ren”are inconsistent,translators’parts of speech of“Ren”might be different,and translators’typical translations of“Ren”are characterized by the atypical distribution among native and overseas translators.Based on the etymological analysis of the English versions of“Ren”,the author explores the rules of the English translations of“Ren”,and thus points out that transliteration is an important way to enhance the international academic discourse power and let the world understand“China in philosophy and social sciences”,so as to provide practical enlightenment for the proper translation of“Ren”in the mainstream communication channels of English-speaking countries.