The Original Mission of Culture By Yu QiuyuTrans. by Liu Xiangyang (刘向阳) Cultural communities around the world may feel estranged towards each other or they may interact with each other, depending on whether or not they maintain a strong presence in one another’s cultural locale. Buddhist scriptures may seem to have driven Xuan Zang’s odyssey to India, but what turned out more important is that he established a powerful presence in a crucial cultural locale – the origin of Buddhism. Such inalienable links with its place of birth, therefore, become part of the entire scripture text. The eighteenth century saw the first ever large-scale encounter between Chinese and European civilizations. At the time, they didn’t understand each other well, but in comparison, Europe had the advantage of being present in China’s cultural locale earlier and in a more proactive way, evidenced in the correspondences by French Jesuit missionaries or the diaries by George Macartney, first British emissary to China. As a result, European civilization fared well in subsequent conflicts. On the contrary, hearsay had long been a source of information for China to learn about Europe. Small wonder that the Chinese, led by their risible assumptions, jumped into negotiations and played into the hands of the other party, while being made a laughingstock. We have yet to see a really influential intellectual, in both East and West, who doesn’t go out of his way and brave fatigue and hardships to champion peace and friendship of humankind. Amid a complexity of world affairs, intellectuals use forums and podiums to build conceived harmony; with our minds becoming increasingly unsettled, they seek to soothe the restless and agitated society with their books and lectures. Contentions among intellectuals are not rare, for sure, but they eventually boil down to the question of finding the more effective approach to building a stable and harmonious society. Even in the 21st century, this still rings true among the supreme of our cultures. I can remember that when World War II drew to an end, in some severely devastated, debris-littered European cities, concerts were already staged in music halls in dire need of renovation, attracting distressed and displaced people in tatters. The sacred and pure music lifted their spirits. They walked out reinvigorated, not the fatigued, wretched people they used to be. Europe took heart from these people when it managed to get back to its feet steadily. This is unforgettable for me, as it shows once again how cultures, in the wake of a war, delivered on its original mission. Cultures are on an eternal quest to seek and pray for a world free of harm. In case any harm is unfortunately done, cultures take the initiative to redress it. Even after the world is rehabilitated, cultures commit themselves to follow-up visits, coping with the aftermath, and preventing reoccurrence of it.
参考译文 The Primary Mission of Culture By Yu QiuyuTrans. by Lin Wei（林巍） The effectiveness of cross-cultural communication between communities in the world may also be enhanced by being each other’s cultural sites. Xuanzang (602–664), for instance, went on a pilgrimage to India for Buddhist sutras, implying much more profound meanings than simply learning the texts; his was an exploration into the cradle of Buddhism. The journey itself sufficiently substantialized the scriptures. Historically, European civilizations prevailed over their Chinese counterpart when the two strange opponents unavoidably confronted one another in the 18th Century, very much owing to the Europeans’ due diligence on Chinese cultural sites, which handed them the high ground in unequal exchanges. On the other hand, having indulged in talking only about alien legends, the Chinese barely had any knowledge about their counterparts except ludicrous conjectures, and were trapped in a laughably passive position. One would know this well from reading the correspondence or diaries left by French Jesuit missionaries and the Englishman George Macartney respectively. As a matter of fact, whether in the East or West, isn’t it true that all great intellectuals, everywhere they go, especially in times of turmoil and chaos, always preach peace and harmony in their speeches, lectures and writings? They spare no efforts to smooth the popular mood, calm social nerves and tranquilize communities. Certainly there are controversies among different cultures’ advocates. The goal of their debates, however, is nothing more than searching for better ways to achieve social harmony and stability, which has always been the ultimate objective of culture even in today’s twenty-first Century. The thing that impressed me most happened in the aftermath of World War II in Europe. In ruined cities, the scarred survivors, members of torn families, clad in rags, walked into unrenovated concert halls. Immersed in holy and pure music, their wounded souls had been comforted, their anxiety eased and their egos transformed when they came out of the halls. Before long, the whole Europe recovered and was rejuvenated. Once again, culture carried out its primary mission even in the ashes of war. Culture perpetually inspires and empowers people to pursue and pray for something harmless. And once people are harmed, culture always emerges as a remedy to cure, rehabilitate and immunize them.
译文评析
变通·分合·调整——第十一届“杭州师范大学—《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛汉译英点评 文/林巍1 本届翻译大赛的汉译英部分，共收到有效参赛译文近千份，创了历届新高。其中不乏优秀者，亦反映出诸多问题，值得分析、归纳。 一、词语变通 一般来讲，翻译中首先遇到的是对于词语的处理。就题目中的“原始使命”而言，一般多译成The Original Mission (of Culture)，但其本义为“referring to something that existed at the beginning of a process or activity, or the characteristics that something had when it began or was made”，即强调的是“最初”“源泉”之意，而通观全文，其主旨讲的文化的原始使命，主要指其首要和基本的功用，故不妨用primary，该词含义为“first or earliest in a sequence; ranked as most important”，故标题不妨译为The Primary Mission of Culture。顺便而言，如同历届翻译大赛，仍有一些人漏译题目，因而在初选中多数被淘汰，不无可惜。 接下来的一系列词语，翻译中都需仔细辨析、灵活变通。 [1]中，“文化现场”，一般译成了cultural scene，但该词组多用于文化景观，特别是与旅游场景等相关，而“文化场地”则多用cultural site。 “母体依据”，直译的，如(which provides all Buddhist texts with sufficient) matrix basis、(it made all Buddhist scriptures fully loaded) with original basis等，似乎与原文对等；但分析起来，作者此处强调的是，玄奘千里迢迢来到印度这个佛教的发源地取经的虔诚性和真实性，从而使其真经更加珍贵，因而不妨译为(with which the Buddhist sutras had been) authenticated/materialized/substantialized等；从而，“为契机”，便不必译成take this opportunity，因其意已融在译文中，不言自明。 [2] 中，“狭路相逢”，一般译成they met on a narrow path、they had been squeezed into an ever shrinking domain等，但还需适应具体语境，同时加入有关成分（如主语、定语、状语等），故参考译文为two strange opponents unavoidably confronted one another。 “更为主动也更为提前”，有些晦涩，若按字面意思，很容易译成more proactive and earlier、much more active and advanced等，其意是指欧洲人对中国文化现场下了更多研究功夫，因而在交往中占据了更为有利的位置，所以不妨稍加变通为“…handed them the high ground in unequal exchanges”，再辅以相关词语。 同时，对于欧洲人对此所下的功夫，参考译文用了due diligence，该词组起先是法律用语，后扩展到其他领域，此处用以表现欧洲人认真做事。“海客谈瀛洲”，是李白《梦游天姥吟留别》的开篇诗句，其中的“瀛洲”指日本，故有的直译为A seafaring visitor has talked about Japan，还有的译成searching for “Atlantis” for a long time，甚至foreigners talking about Yingzhou，其实此处可理解为指当时国人对外部世界缺乏了解的状况，故可泛指为people talk about alien legends。 “笑话连连”，若译成making a lot of joke、a series of jokes，是主动地笑，而作者的意思是不断闹出笑话后，被人耻笑，故应是laughable、laughably、be laughed at…，此处结合前面的“处处被动”，可译为“… in a laughably passive position”。 [3]中的“文化人”和[4]中的“文化人”，参赛译文用了literary scholar、the highest levels of scholar、literati、intellectuals等，而且通常是“一词到底”。其实，应根据具体语境，有所区别或省略，特别是[4]中，不妨理解为cultures’ advocates 等。顺便而言，同段中的“文化的至高层次”，不是字面意思的the top level of culture，而是指其最终目的，即the ultimate objective of culture。 同段的“四处游说”，一般多译成go around and lobby for、always travel the world and lobby for，但该词的基本意思是“If you lobby someone such as a member of a government or council, you try to persuade them that a particular law should be changed or that a particular thing should be done.”，即游说的对象通常是政府官员，内容多与法律、议案等有关，而此处更为确切的词应为preach，该词最早是个宗教词汇，后其意拓展了。“学园”“讲坛”，有的用了lyceums and pulpits，固然有古雅之风，但于此处词义略显狭窄。 此外，[6]中的“一旦伤害形成”，其中的宾语也被许多人理解为“文化”，译成once culture is harmed，实则是指文化中的人，当然未必是cultural men，而people即可。同时，“预防伤害的再次产生”，着实费了许多人的笔墨，如to prevent it from happening again and again、to avoid the recurrence of injuries等；其实，不妨简略为immune、having immunity、immunize (them)，其意为the state of being protected from something，同时，对于“伤害”，许多人用了injury，不够准确，因该词的本义为physical harm or damage to someone’s body caused by an accident or an attack，即主要是身体层面的，而此处更多指的是精神方面的。 中外翻译实践中，需将词语变通处理的实例很多。如英国名著《傲慢与偏见》（Pride and Prejudice）中“By tea-time, however, the dose had been enough”，有的版本竟然译成“到了吃茶的时候，这服药才算喝够了”，显然是误译，因为若结合该书具体情节——班尼特先生实在无法忍受科林对于凯瑟琳的肉麻吹捧，便应更准确、生动地译为“直到喝茶的时候，这场罪总算受完了”。中译英的，如“你真是不到黄河不死心。”，若译成“You really do refuse to give in until the Yellow River is reached.”，西方读者便不知所云，而宜译为“You really do refuse to give in until all hope is gone.”。 所以，翻译中的词语变通，实在是任何上等译文的基本元素。 二、分合有致 翻译中又难免会有各种分拆、重组，可以发生在词组、句式和语篇层面。本节主要涉及第一类。 [1]中的“隔阂与沟通”，按其字面意思译成the estrangement and communication between、gap and interaction等，但分析起来，作者这里主要讲的是（不同文化群落之间的）相互沟通、理解的程度和质量，所以不妨归并为一词the efficiency/effectiveness (of cross-cultural communication between communities)，同时避免between different cultural communities的重复，以求简约。 同样，[2]中的“相互都不理解”，许多人单译一句they did not understand/know/comprehend each other at that time等，然而有没有可能并为一个词组呢？如the two strange opponents、the ignorant counterparts 等，以使整段语言简洁、明快。同时，“两种文明的冲撞”，多被译成the two civilized communication，但其对应的是uncivilized communication（不文明的沟通），显然不是作者的原意；参考译文将其意融入了confronted one another，结合前文，算是一种重新组合。 对于“处处被动”“笑话连连”，更是难免译得冗赘，如which inevitably got them into states of passivity and embarrassment from time to time、definitely putting themselves in a passive position and always making jokes等，语言层面似乎十分对应，而参考译文是将两个短语融汇在了a laughably passive position一语之中。 以上，主要是“由繁至简”，但有时也需“由简至繁”。例如，[5]中的“精神立即获得修补”，似乎是一句单独的表述，故典型的参赛译文，如they felt their spirits were immediately repaired、that it cured people’s broken hearts等，大致“对称”，但若结合“不再是疲惫的可怜人”，甚至前面“伤痕累累”等的状态，此处不妨译得“铺排” 一些，如参考译文“their wounded souls had been comforted, their anxiety eased and their egos transformed”，似乎有适当“增词”，但结合具体语境，译文并未“增意”，不过是将人们当时的那种身心变化表述得更加充分。 这种“分合有致”的处理，在上乘的译文中，有时会起到关键而微妙的作用。如“He cannot politely turn down the invitation to that important diplomatic conference.”若译成“他不能够有礼貌地拒绝参加那个重要外交会议。”，显然死板呆滞；但将画线部分分解为下述标识的两部分，则译文质量大可提升：他若是拒绝那个重要外交会议的邀请，在礼节上是说不过去的。 三、句式调整 所谓“句式调整”，一定是在语篇视域下进行的。较为典型的，出现在[2]、[3]、[5] 中。 对于[2]，一般参赛者都依原文语序，按部就班译出，表面上看线路清晰、忠实原文。然而，译者有时还需根据译入语的理解与表达习惯，将原文内容融会贯通后作一调整、分类。如，可加入一状语从而导入历史语境；然后将欧洲人对中国文明下功夫的理解与中国人对西方文明的肤浅了解，作一反差对比，最后列出法、英文化人的有关历史记载，作为佐证材料（这一段的具体表述请见参考译文），从而使语篇更加简约、通顺、富有逻辑性。 [3]的参赛译文，亦是多种多样。看得出来，译者们都在努力与原文丝丝入扣，也基本对等、通顺、平畅；当然其中允许有些个人理解和表述的差异。就参考译文而言，首先用了“As a matter of fact,”作为衔接与过渡，接续的是一种文化人的实践，而后的问句“哪一个真正的大文化人不是……而……四处游说的？”，其所问内容同时包含在“世事荒乱”时期、“文化人的著作、演说”中，因中文语言特点，问句不宜过长，而在英文里则完全可以将这些意思囊括进去“... isn’t it true that all great intellectuals, everywhere they go, especially in times of turmoil and chaos, always preach peace and harmony in their speeches, lectures and writings? ”而“抚平着社会躁动的神经”，若只是calm social nerves，还略显单薄，因作者这里更多指的是一种民众情绪，故不妨增添smooth the popular mood，以更充实。 对于[5]的翻译，大多数人也都采取了顺译方法，特别是其中的“这件事让我一直难以忘怀”，一般都夹入句中，译成“it has been stayed with me ever since”“This is truly unforgettable to me.”等。其实从语篇层次看，给作者留下深刻印象的这一文化场面，是这一整段的主旨，包括残酷战争的废墟、文化设施的毁坏、人们精神的创伤和愈合，故应将这一句提前，统领该段，如“It has been deeply stuck in my mind that…”“The thing that impressed me most happened in…”等。 总之，在翻译实践中，既要忠实原文，又不能拘泥原文；要在透彻理解原文的基础上，综合平衡地进行词语变通、分合有致及句式调整，才能获得整体语篇上的最佳译文效果。期待下届大赛有更多更好的译文出现。 注释：1. 博士，杭州师范大学外国语学院翻译研究所特聘教授。 ▼ 《英语世界》的读者因为最近微信公众号平台改变了推送规则，大家的订阅号时间线都被打乱了。如果想要及时看到我们的文章：1. 把 英语世界 设置为“星标”；2. 读完文章后点一下“在看”。 谢谢支持～
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