翻译工作坊海上小喔
翻译工作坊
之
箫管
中国典故选介与英译
Historical Chine Tales, etc. and Their English Translation
Section 1 Chine Historical Tales
腐乳制作过程1. Fish the Same Way as Jiang Taigong Did, Who Cast a Hookless and Baitless Line for the
Fish That Wanted to Be Caught
(The Way Jiang Taigong fishes --- to Catch Only Tho Who Are Willing to Be
Caught)
小学英语句型
Jiang Taigong is a popular name for Jiang Ziya, statesman and strategist. As an advir of King Wen of the Zhou State in ancient China, he, at the age of 80, helped the young King Wu overthrow the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty.
Jiang was a nior official during the reign of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. Since the king was muddleheaded and atrocious, and the mass had no means to live, Jiang resigned and lived in clusion on the shore of the Wei River. The State Zhou was strong and prosperous. There Ji Chang (King Wen of the Zhou State) was courteous to the wi and condescendent to the scholarly, ruling the state with benevolence and uprighteousness. He had long been in arch of a virtuous assistant. One day Ji Chang went to hunt on the northern shore of the Wei River. He saw an old man fishing by the shore who, oblivious of so many people passing by, continued to fish quietly. That was Jiang. It was said he was over 70 then. Ji Chang felt curious so he stepped down from the chariot and walked to the old man, only to find the man‘s fishhook was not bent, impossible to get any fish. Realizing this man was not a common one, Ji Chang began to chat with him. He found this was the right man he was in quest of, so he said, ―Before h
e died, my grandfather had anticipated that Zhou would become prosperous when a sage came to us. You are the sage I‘ve been looking for. My grandfather had long expected your arrival!‖ So he called him Taigong. He returned with Taigong, sharing his carriage with him, and treated him as his mentor(导师；顾问；国师). Taigong assisted Ji Chang. The Western Zhou became more flourishing, so the people of other states came over and pledged allegiance one after another. After Ji Chang pasd away, his son Ji Fa (King Wu) succeeded to the throne. With Jiang Shang‘s assistance, Ji Fa met the sovereigns of the other states in Mengjin and then they together nt an army to crusade against Zhou. As a result, King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty burned himlf to death. After the downfall of the Shang Dynasty, Ji Fa established the Zhou Dynasty. Known as King Wu in history, he honored his father with the posthumous title of King Wen.
**Chine Version:
1.姜太公钓鱼
民间有句俗话，叫做“姜太公钓鱼——愿者上钩”。这句话来自于一段历史故事。据史料记
载：姜太公名叫姜尚，字子牙，东海(今山东省日照市东)人。因其始封于吕，故以封地为姓，又称吕尚。商纣王时，姜尚曾任朝廷大夫。因目睹纣王昏庸残暴，百姓民不聊生，遂辞官隐居于渭水之滨。当时位于西部的诸侯国周国国力强盛，西伯姬昌(即周文王)礼贤下士，仁义治国，老百姓安居乐业。但长期以来，姬昌一直未能遇到一位贤德的辅佐。一天，姬昌乘车去渭水北岸打猎。在渭水边上，姬昌看见一个老者在岸边垂钓，大队人马走过，老者充耳不闻，仍然是静静地钓鱼。这位老者正是姜尚，传说当时已经70岁了。姬昌觉得奇怪，就下车来到老者跟前，却发现老者钓鱼的鱼钩是直的，根本就钓不上鱼来。姬昌知道老者是一位奇人，就跟他聊了起来。经过一番谈话，姬昌发现这位老者正是自己要找的人，于是高兴地说：“我祖父在世的时候曾对我说过：‘将来会有一奇人帮助你把周族兴盛起来。’您正是我要找的人。我的祖父盼望您已经很久了。”因此古代文献中又称姜尚为“太公望”或“姜太公”。于是，姜尚跟随姬昌来到西周，被封为国师。他辅佐西伯推行新政，西周愈加强盛，周边诸侯国的人民也都纷纷归顺西周。西伯去世后，其子姬发(即周武王)继位。在姜尚的辅助下，姬发在盟津大会诸侯，随后兴兵伐纣，商纣王自焚而死，商朝灭亡。姬发建立了周朝，史称周武王，追封其父西伯姬昌为周文王。周朝建立以后，姜尚被封到齐地，建都营丘(今山东省淄博市临淄区齐陵镇附近)，齐国后来成为诸侯国中的强国。
***Concepts of Translation Theory:
Accuracy
Accuracy refers to prerving the meaning of the original text. The term accuracy is esntially synonymous with the term faithfulness, but some translation theoreticians differentiate between the two terms. A translation which is accurate is faithful to the intended meaning of the original author.
Audience
Audience refers to tho who hear or read something. Translators must be well aware of who their audience is, to be most effective in translation. They must translate for their audience, using vocabulary and grammatical patterns which are well understood by that audience.
Clarity
The quality of being clear, easy to understand, lucid, free from unnatural forms or expressions which hinder understanding. Clarity is one of the three most important qualities required of a good translation, the other two being accuracy and naturalness.
****Translate the Underlined Parts into English:
*2. Xiangru Returned the Jade Intact to the Zhao State
When King Huiwen was ruling the State of Zhao, he was fortunate enough to acquire a piece of jade discovered by Bian He of the State of Chu. Hearing this, King Zhao of the State of Qin nt a letter to the King of Zhao, offering fifteen cities in exchange for the treasure. The King immediately sought counl with General Lian Po and his ministers, confessing that he was worried he might thus lo the jade for nothing if the ruler of Qin broke his word and refud to give him the cities, and on the other hand, if he did not let the jade go, Qin might come to attack Zhao. Much discussion went on, but the matter was not ttled. At that time, Lin Xiangru was recommended to the King. He told the King he was willing to be the mesnger and escort the jade to Qin. The King of Zhao dispatch
ed Xiangru to Qin with the jade. On arrival, Xiangru was received by the King of Qin in Changtai Palace. Xiangru offered the jade to the ruler of Qin who was greatly plead. He showed it round among his palace maids and attendants. The courtiers hailed and applauded. Seeing that the King of Qin had no intention of giving the promid cities to Zhao, Xiangru stepped forward and said, ―The jade has flaws. Plea let me show it to Your Highness.‖ The King of Qin handed the jade over to Xiangru, who, with the stone in hand, retreated a few steps to lean on a column, and in great fury rebuked the King‘s perfidy（背信）and addresd him, ―If Your Highness choos to put pressure on me to submit it, I will immediately knock both the stone and my head against this column, and break both.‖ Afraid that he was going to smash the jad e, the King of Qin made an apology and entreated Xiangru not to do so. Then, he summoned the official concerned to read the map of Qin to Xiangru and mark off fifteen cities to be given over to Zhao. Being a cautious man, Xiangru had a notion that the King of Qin was only playing a trick, pretending to make Zhao a gift of the cities, but not intending that Zhao should actually obtain them. So he said to the King of Qin riously, ―Heshi Jade is known by all to be a
treasure. That Zhao has offered it to Qin is out of fear. Since our King, when he nt the jade to you, fasted for five days, it is only proper that Your Highness should do likewi and, later, perform a solemn ceremony of reception in the main palace. Only then dare I offer the jade to you.‖ Real izing that after all he could rob it from Xiangru by force, the King of Qin promid to fast and ordered Xiangru to be lodged in the guesthou. Considering again that the King of Qin, although he had promid to fast and might actually do so, was any minute ready to go back on his words and refu to give the cities, Xiangru asked his attendant to disgui himlf as a commoner by putting on a coar hemp coat and to return to Zhao with the jade by a short-cut.性88XXX
**Chine Version:
2. 完璧归赵
据《史记》卷八十一《廉颇蔺相如列传》记载：蔺相如是赵国人，是赵国宦者令缪贤的门客。赵惠文王得到了一件宝贝——和氏璧，秦昭王听说后，派人送给赵王一封信，称愿意以15座城池交换和氏璧。当时秦国强大，赵国弱小。赵王既怕上当受骗，又怕秦兵来攻。
怎样炖排骨好吃这时，有人向赵王推荐了蔺相如。于是，赵王就派遣蔺相如带着和氏璧前往秦国。秦王在章台接见了蔺相如。蔺相如将和氏璧敬献给秦王，秦王非常高兴，并将璧传给侍列左右的美人和大臣观看。蔺相如见秦王丝毫没有给赵国城池的意思，便机智地走向前去对秦王说：“璧上有处瑕疵，请指给大王看。”秦王信以为真，便将璧交给了蔺相如。蔺相如拿到璧后，后退了一步站在一根柱子旁边，怒斥秦王不讲信义，并警告秦王：“如果你一定要来抢璧的话，那么，我的头和这块璧，今天就都撞碎在这根柱子上。”并拿着璧瞅着柱子，做出要击碎璧的样子。秦王怕和氏璧被摔碎，只好让有司拿过地图来，指着地图说从这里到这里15座城池都给赵国。蔺相如估计秦王只是做个样子而已，赵国其实得不到城池。于是又对秦王说：“赵王献璧的时候，曾经斋戒5日。现在大王也应该斋戒5日，我才敢把璧献给你。”秦王无可奈何，只好答应斋戒5日，并安排蔺相如住进了迎宾馆。当天晚上，蔺相如让随从换上百姓的衣服，将和氏璧藏在怀里，从小路逃回赵国。秦王斋戒结束后，不见玉璧，大怒，欲杀蔺相如，但最后还是放了他。蔺相如回到赵国后，赵王以其不辱使命，加封他为上大夫。长期以来，人们一直把这个故事作为爱国主义教材。
***Concept of Translation Theory:
Context
莲花竹Context refers to the environment or tting in which an utterance occurs. There are various contexts which are crucial for a translator to be aware of. The immediate linguistic context consists of words, phras, and ntences which surround the utterance in question. This is discour or textual context. The linguistic context also includes the situational context, that is, the social context in which the utterance was made. This includes the identity of speaker and addre, their relationship, and the purpo of the utterance in the mind of the speaker. This social context is the concern of pragmatics. Ultimately, the pragmatic context also includes the time, place, and culture in which the utterance was made. So a translator must be aware of the historical, anthropological, and sociological environment in which the utterance he is translating was made.
****Translate the Underlined Parts into English:
哑铃背部训练*3. To Tie one's Hair on the Hou Beam and Jab One's Side with an Awl to Keep Onelf Awake — Take Great Pains with One's Study
(Tying One‘s Hair on the Hou Beam and Jabing One‘s Side with an Awl)
The allusion comes from Tai Ping Yu Lan and Strategies of the Warring States. In ―Biographies of Virtuous Persons of the Chu State” in the book Tai Ping Yu Lan, Zhang Fang records: In the early Han Dynasty, a man named Sun Jing who was eager to learn often studied late at night. When he felt
sleepy, he tied his hair to the roof beam, so, when he dozed he would feel pain and woke up when his hair was pulled upward by the rope. Then he would go on with his study. In Volume One of Anecdotes of the Qin State in Strategies of the Warring States there is another story as follows: Su Qin felt sleepy when he was reading, so he took an awl and stabbed it into his own legs. The blood flew to his feet. Now people often prai with this allusion tho who grind away at their studies.
