A Statistical Approach to Annotation in the English Translation of Chinese Classics:A Case Study of the Four English Versions of Fushengliuji

Annotation in translation is of great value in communicating"the local"to the global readership.Based on our content and function-centered statistics on the 483 notes of the four English versions of Shen Fu’s autobiographical work Fushengliuji,we find that 1)in terms of content,cultural,geographic,historical,and literary references are the most important categories of annotation in the English translation of this work;annotations in the four versions are employed to serve 6 major functions/purposes:to further inform,to facilitate understanding,to avoid misunderstanding,to interpret personally,to cite or allude,and to correct mistakes;2)no correlation can be established between the use of annotation and the reception of the work per se,but it can reflect the translator’s poise and strategy which ultimately affect the reception of the work;and 3)Lin’s version used relatively few notes and relied heavily on paraphrasing,a practice which leads to better accessibility of his translation and at the same time to the possible sacrifice of some culturally and socially significant elements of the original.Black’s translation used notes sparingly,and she was so creative as to rearrange and edit the original text,revealing her approach of radical"reader-centeredness".Pratt and Chiang’s version and Sanders’version used a large number of notes carrying a sinological mission,revealing their respect for the original and their decision to inform and inspire their readers.We argue that cultural translation,whether aided by annotation or not,is predominantly an art about"glocalism"and that both author-centeredness and reader-centeredness can be reconciled,since ultimately they serve the same"communicative"purpose.

On the Translation of Iconography of the Decorated Writing-Paper of the Ten Bamboo Studio Based on the Theory of Translational Action

Based on the theory of translational action of the functionalism,this paper selects three aspects,translation as an inter-cultural and communicative action,a purposeful text-processing action and an inter-personal action,to analyze the important issues as well as the translation strategies,methods and techniques adopted in the translation of Chinese allusions.The study shows that the theory of translational action is important for the translation of allusions and that it helps to modify the target text.The translator,also the author of this paper,hopes that this study will be useful for the translation of allusions and the publicity of traditional Chinese culture across the world.

The New Result of Studies in the History of Medieval Calligraphy:A Review of The Manual of Calligraphy by Sun Guoting of the Tang:A Comprehensive Study on the Manuscript and Its Author

The Manual of Calligraphy by Sun Guoting of the Tang:A Comprehensive Study on the Manuscript and Its Author is one of the representative monographs by the Italian sinologist Pietro De Laurentis,which includes the textual and historical research of Sun Guoting(a famous calligrapher and calligraphic theorist in the Tang Dynasty)and his calligraphy.The integrity and circulation of Shu pu(one of Sun Guoting’s most famous calligraphic works,which is an important work of traditional Chinese calligraphic theory)and its textual content and visual form,featuring meticulous historical analysis and unique insights,have created a dialogue with the existing studies of Shu pu in China.The English translation of Shu pu and historical records regarding Sun Guoting are presented in this monograph,with informative notes in the translation that convey Sun Guoting’s aesthetic ideas and experiences while learning calligraphy.This book enriches the studies of calligraphy history in China by presenting a new perspective and approach,and the research-based translations provide inspiration and reference for the transmission of Chinese calligraphy in the West.

Chuang Tzu in Germany:The Redirection of Chinese Literary Classics “Going Global”

As the quintessence of traditional Chinese culture,Chuang Tzu and other Chinese literary classics have been translated and introduced to many Western countries in succession,arousing Western attention and thoughts on Chinese culture.Since Chuang Tzu was introduced to Germany by sinologists and missionaries at the end of the nineteenth century,it has triggered a continuous upsurge of interest in its reading and research,which has solidified into a spiritual mirror aimed at fully representing traditional Chinese culture.From this translation and research history of Chuang Tzu in Germany,a general pattern of"translation lagging behind research"is illustrated.In this process,Germany’s interpretation and acceptance of Chuang Tzu is not only conducted from the perspective of literature and philosophy,but widely extends to other academic realms,including natural science,highlighting its distinct"fusion"and"cross-boundary"features.Examining the cross-cultural presentation and reappearance of Chuang Tzu in Germany is of great enlightening significance to the construction of a translation model for Chinese classics.Thus,a cooperative translation model in which domestic translators and foreign sinologists can draw on each other’s unique strengths during communication could be built.To this end,in the selection of translated classics,translators should pay attention to their own compatibility with the cultural background of the target countries to avoid invalid translation,which might even cause cultural conflicts.Consequently,the translation of Chinese classics will be shifted closer towards their purest original intended purposes.