略论中国近现代社会文化背景的演变对翻译的影响

The Influence of China’s Cultural Background in Modern Times on Translation

中国近现代文化背景是由鸦片战争前的封建传统文化单一模式逐步转向西方文化强势进入模式 ,然后转向当代多元共生的模式。这里分析了中国近现代历史文化背景的演变对翻译选材和翻译标准的影响 ,认为在其影响下翻译选材经历了由自然科学向社会科学、文学等所有领域逐步扩大的过程 ,翻译标准经历了由“信、达、雅” ,向“宁信勿顺”、“化境” ,而至“一定制约性 ,一定自由度”的过程 ,指出文化背景对翻译有着巨大的制约和推进作用 ,新的翻译标准应该包括“顺应社会文化背景”这一点。

In terms of cultural background, China has undergone the development from its single traditional and feudal cultural model before the Opium War to the hybridized one between the Chinese and Western cultures after foreign invasions, and finally to the model where heterogeneous cultures coexist in modern times. Discussions are made in this paper on the influence of China’s cultural background in modern times on the selection of translating materials and translation criteria. As far as materials for translation are concerned, they have been expanded from works of natural science to those of literature and social science. The criteria of translation, on the other hand, have developed from the triadic criterion of “faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance” to the “preference of faithfulness over smoothness”, the “transmigration of souls” and “freedom with boundaries”. It is proved that cultural background can both promote and restrict the development of translation. Accordingly, the formulation of new criteria should “conform to the extant cultural background”.