美国汉学家梅维恒对道家经典的译介

The Translation and Introduction of Taoist Classics by American Sinologist Victor.H.Mair

美国汉学家梅维恒译介了《道德经》《庄子》《孙子兵法》这三部重要的道家经典作品,在译本中运用前言、导论以及注释等副文本为西方读者提供了丰富的文本外知识,为道家经典在英语世界的传播作出重要贡献。文章通过考察梅维恒对这三部道家经典的“译”与“介”,发现他为研究而翻译、为翻译而研究,善用副文本进行厚翻译,并持有跨文化比较视野,体现出典型的研究型翻译特征。究其翻译思想,梅维恒在追求忠实传达原文面貌的同时,也注重译文的可读性和读者阅读体验。

Victor H.Mair,a notable American Sinologist,made significant contributions to the dissemination of Taoist classics in the English-speaking world through his translations of three key works:Tao Te Ching,Chuang Tzu,and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.In these translations,Mair utilized paratexts such as prefaces,introductions,and annotations to provide Western readers with a wealth of contextual knowledge about Taoist philosophy.This paper examines Mair’s translations and introductions of these works,revealing how his approach exemplifies research-based translation and translation-driven research.Mair skillfully employed paratexts to engage in“thick translation”,reflecting his cross-cultural comparative vision and the distinctive characteristics of research-oriented translation.His translation philosophy emphasized not only faithfulness to the original text but also the readability of the translated version,always with a focus on enhancing the reader’s overall experience.