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BriefIntroductionoftheChineseTranslationHistoryChinesetranslationtheorywasbornoutofcontactwithvassalstatesduringtheZhouDynasty.ItdevelopedthroughtranslationsofBuddhistscriptureintoChinese.ItisaresponsetotheuniversalsoftheexperienceoftranslationandtothespecificsoftheexperienceoftranslatingfromspecificsourcelanguagesintoChinese.ItalsodevelopedinthecontextofChineseliteraryandintellectualtradition.ThemodernStandardMandarinwordfanyi翻譯translate;translationcompoundsfanturnover;crossover;translateandyitranslate;interpret.Somerelatedsynonymsaretongyi通譯interpret;translate,chuanyi傳譯interpret;translate,andzhuanyi轉譯translate;retranslate.TheChineseclassicscontainvariouswordsmeaninginterpreter;translator,forinstance,sheren舌人(lit.tongueperson)andfanshe反舌(lit.returntongue).TheClassicofRitesrecordsfourregionalwords:ji寄send;entrust;relyonforDongyi東夷EasternYi-barbarians,xiang象belike;resemble;imageforNanman南蠻SouthernMan-barbarians,didi狄鞮Di-barbarianbootsforXirong西戎WesternRong-barbarians,andyi譯translate;interpretforBeidi北狄NorthernDi-barbarians.Inthosefiveregions,thelanguagesofthepeoplewerenotmutuallyintelligible,andtheirlikingsanddesiresweredifferent.Tomakewhatwasintheirmindsapprehended,andtocommunicatetheirlikingsanddesires,(therewereofficers),—intheeast,calledtransmitters;inthesouth,representationists;inthewest,Tî-tîs;andinthenorth,interpreters.(王制TheRoyalRegulations,tr.JamesLegge1885vol.27,pp.229-230)AWesternHanworkattributesadialogueabouttranslationtoConfucius.Confuciusadvisesarulerwhowishestolearnforeignlanguagesnottobother.Confuciustellstherulertofocusongovernanceandletthetranslatorshandletranslation.Theearliestbitoftranslationtheorymaybethephrasenamesshouldfollowtheirbearers,whilethingsshouldfollowChina.Inotherwords,namesshouldbetransliterated,whilethingsshouldbetranslatedbymeaning.InthelateQingDynastyandtheRepublicanPeriod,reformerssuchasLiangQichao,HuShiandZhouZuorenbeganlookingattranslationpracticeandtheoryofthegreattranslatorsinChinesehistory.ZhiQian(3rdc.AD)ZhiQian(支謙)'spreface(序)isthefirstworkwhosepurposeistoexpressanopinionabouttranslationpractice.TheprefacewasincludedinaworkoftheLiangDynasty.Itrecountsanhistoricalanecdoteof224AD,atthebeginningoftheThreeKingdomsperiod.ApartyofBuddhistmonkscametoWuchang.Oneofthem,ZhuJiangyanbyname,wasaskedtotranslatesomepassagefromscripture.Hedidso,inroughChinese.WhenZhiQianquestionedthelackofelegance,anothermonk,namedWeiQi(維衹),respondedthatthemeaningoftheBuddhashouldbetranslatedsimply,withoutloss,inaneasy-to-understandmanner:literaryadornmentisunnecessary.Allpresentconcurredandquotedtwotraditionalmaxims:Laozi'sbeautifulwordsareuntrue,truewordsarenotbeautifulandConfucius'sspeechcannotbefullyrecordedbywriting,andspeechcannotfullycapturemeaning.ZhiQian'sowntranslationsofBuddhisttextsareelegantandliterary,sothedirecttranslationadvocatedintheanecdoteislikelyWeiQi'sposition,notZhiQian's.DaoAn(314-385AD)DaoAnfocusedonlossintranslation.HistheoryistheFiveFormsofLoss(五失本):1.Changingthewordorder.SanskritwordorderisfreewithatendencytoSOV.ChineseisSVO.2.Addingliteraryembellishmentwheretheoriginalisinplainstyle.3.Eliminatingrepetitivenessinargumentationandpanegyric(頌文).4.Cuttingtheconcludingsummarysection(義說).5.Cuttingtherecapitulativematerialinintroductorysection.DaoAncriticizedothertranslatorsforlossintranslation,asking:howtheywouldfeelifatranslatorcuttheboringbitsoutofclassicsliketheShiJingortheClassicofHistory?Healsoexpandeduponthedifficultyoftranslation,withhistheoryoftheThreeDifficulties(三不易):1.CommunicatingtheDharmatoadifferentaudiencefromtheonetheBuddhaaddressed.2.Translatingthewordsofasaint.3.Translatingtextswhichhavebeenpainstakinglycomposedbygenerationsofdisciples.Kumarajiva(344-413AD)Kumarajiva’stranslationpracticewastotranslateformeaning.ThestorygoesthatonedayKumarajivacriticizedhisdiscipleSengruifortranslating“heavenseesman,andmanseesheaven”(天見人,人見天).Kumarajivafeltthat“manandheavenconnect,thetwoabletoseeeachother”(人天交接,兩得相見)wouldbemoreidiomatic,thoughheavenseesman,manseesheavenisperfectlyidiomatic.Inanothertale,Kumarajivadiscussestheproblemoftranslatingincantationsattheendofsutras.Intheoriginalthereisattentiontoaesthetics,butthesenseofbeautyandtheliteraryform(dependentontheparticularitiesofSanskrit)arelostintranslation.Itislikechewingupriceandfeedingittopeople(嚼飯與人).Huiyuan(334-416AD)Huiyuan'stheoryoftranslationismiddling,inapositivesense.Itisasynthesisthatavoidsextremesofelegant(文雅)andplain(質樸).Witheleganttranslation,thelanguagegoesbeyondthemeaning(文過其意)oftheoriginal.Withplaintranslation,thethoughtsurpassesthewording(理勝其辭).ForHuiyuan,thewordsshouldnotharmthemeaning(文不害意).Agoodtranslatorshould“strivetopreservetheoriginal”(務存其本).Sengrui(371-438AD)Sengruiinvestigatedproblemsintranslatingthenamesofthings.ThisisofcourseanimportanttraditionalconcernwhoselocusclassicusistheConfucianexhortationto“rectifynames”(正名).ThisisnotmerelyofacademicconcerntoSengrui,forpoortranslationimperilsBuddhism.SengruiwascriticalofhisteacherKumarajiva'scasualapproachtotranslatingnames,attributingittoKumarajiva