China's diplomatic discourse is a complicated system underpinned by divergent translations.As such,the concept of"Zhengque Yi Li Guan"(ZhèngquèYìLìGuān in Pinyin),like numerous other...China's diplomatic discourse is a complicated system underpinned by divergent translations.As such,the concept of"Zhengque Yi Li Guan"(ZhèngquèYìLìGuān in Pinyin),like numerous other Chinese concepts,is not well appreciated.This could be due to the dearth of a uniform official translation and inconsistent interpretation.Therefore,this paper seeks to draw awareness to this vital issue that has been neglected in the China-Africa diplomatic discourse.As a way of filling this gap in the literature,the author argues that literal translation is not enough in diplomatic discourse.Searches of Chinese classical works from texts and dictionaries were carried out to identify the equivalent English words for"Zhengque,""Yi,""Li,"and"Guan."Based on the scope of this paper,emphasis will be placed on"Yi"because it plays a critical role in the"ZhèngquèYìLìGuān"concept and has been the term with the most controversial interpretation.The paper uses the critical discourse analysis(CDA)method as its theoretical framework.The author contends that"justice"(meaning impartiality)is a preferable translation for"Yi"while"interests"is fit for"Li."The article also suggests that"Yi"should be reconceptualized using three approaches:the strategic partnership approach,the international approach,and the regional approach,to represent the realities of current China-Africa relations.展开更多
文摘China's diplomatic discourse is a complicated system underpinned by divergent translations.As such,the concept of"Zhengque Yi Li Guan"(ZhèngquèYìLìGuān in Pinyin),like numerous other Chinese concepts,is not well appreciated.This could be due to the dearth of a uniform official translation and inconsistent interpretation.Therefore,this paper seeks to draw awareness to this vital issue that has been neglected in the China-Africa diplomatic discourse.As a way of filling this gap in the literature,the author argues that literal translation is not enough in diplomatic discourse.Searches of Chinese classical works from texts and dictionaries were carried out to identify the equivalent English words for"Zhengque,""Yi,""Li,"and"Guan."Based on the scope of this paper,emphasis will be placed on"Yi"because it plays a critical role in the"ZhèngquèYìLìGuān"concept and has been the term with the most controversial interpretation.The paper uses the critical discourse analysis(CDA)method as its theoretical framework.The author contends that"justice"(meaning impartiality)is a preferable translation for"Yi"while"interests"is fit for"Li."The article also suggests that"Yi"should be reconceptualized using three approaches:the strategic partnership approach,the international approach,and the regional approach,to represent the realities of current China-Africa relations.
