翻译理论中“意境”话语的跨文化反思

Trans-contextual Reflections on the Discourse of Yijing(意境) in Translation Studies

'意境'是中国最具本土特色的审美范畴之一,它早已从传统文论渗透到了翻译理论之中,亦即从单一的汉语文化语境转移到了跨文化语境。然而,作为翻译批评范畴,'意境'因其独特的'心-脑-境'的合一性、虚实相生关系、空间关系、精神基调、互文延续性以及表意文字基础等因素,在跨文化语境的中西译论的交流融通中,其'效度'较为有限,不但在理论层面与西方译论难以通约,在实践层面,西方文化语境中的目的语读者也很难获得类似的阅读与审美体验。'意境'在翻译实践中虽不能轻易放弃,但是,中国特色的本土翻译理论不宜围绕着'意境'来构建。

As a core Chinese aesthetic category,yijing(意境ideo-mood-imagery,or the aesthetically/poetically evoked world/realm)has extended from its defining presence in classical Chinese literary criticism to literary translation theory,which means that its original,homogeneous Chinese cultural context becomes a transcultural context when it is employed as a category of translation criticism.However,as a category of translation studies,it does not have the same validity and legitimacy as in classical Chinese literary criticism because the generation of yijing depends on the trinity of the heart-mind-scene,on the interaction between the real and the unreal,on its relevance to spatial relationship as perceived by the Chinese,on its spiritual tenor,on its contextual reliance on pre-texts,and on its foundation of ideographic Chinese characters;therefore.In terms of theoretical construction,there is little commensurability between yijing-centered Chinese translation theory and Western translation theory in general,and,in terms of effect,Western target readers can hardly get the same reading and aesthetic experience as do their Chinese counterparts.The construction of Chinese literary translation theory should not be centered on the discourse of yijing,though Yijing per se should not be ignored in translation deliberately.