Asian Translation Traditions

Translation Studies, one of the fastest developing fields in the humanities since the early 1980s, has so far been Euro-centric both in its theoretical explorations and in its historical grounding

Auteur

Eva Tsoi Hung Hung, Judy Wakabayashi

Contenu

Contents

Introduction, Eva Hung & Judy Wakabayashi, pp 1-15.

Translation in the East Asian Cultural Sphere: Shared Roots, Divergent Paths?, Judy Wakabayashi, pp 17-65.
This paper examines the historical similarities and differences that shaped translation norms in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, which all adopted Chinese characters as their written script and were greatly influenced by Chinese culture. A comparison is also made with translation in China itself. Factors considered include indigenous methods of reading Chinese texts and the subsequent availability of non-Chinese scripts, the selection of texts for translation, the status of the native vernacular in writing and the acceptance of Chinese vernacular fiction, and preferences for importing or coining translational equivalents. Other aspects examined include attitudes towards the introduction of Western ideas and towards translation as a means of national survival, the role of foreign translators, government and private sponsorship, and the professionalization of translation, as well as its theorizing and academic study.

Translation in China - An Analytical Survey: First Century B.C.E. to Early Twentieth Century, Eva Hung, pp 67-107.
This survey of Chinese translation activities, which spans two millennia, is based on an extensive study of primary sources. It begins with definitions of 'China' and 'translation' that reflect their historical contexts, and highlights special Chinese characteristics and phenomena - such as strong cultural superiority, the existence of non-Chinese dynasties, and the reliance on non-Chinese translation manpower - which had long-term impact on translation practices. The author identifies two categories into which translation activities fell: cultural translation that aimed at bringing change to the host culture, and government translation that aimed at strengthening the ruler's prestige and effectiveness. The paper delineates the major differences between cultural and career translators, ranging from linguistic ability and mode of operation to their sense of loyalty and purpose. It then gives an account of both categories of translation work done in China, as well as the drastic changes in the early twentieth centuries that have obfuscated the true historical picture.

From 'Controlling the Barbarians' to 'Wholesale Westernization': Translation and Politics in Late Imperial and Early Republican China, 1840-1919, Lawrence Wang-Chi Wong, pp 109-134.
This paper traces the development of translation activities in late Imperial and Early Republican China, focusing on the intellectuals' change of attitude towards translating Western Learning. A number of major issues are discussed: (1) How and why was translation adopted as the means to modernize and save the country? (2) What texts were selected for translation in order to fulfill this purpose? (3) What were the opposing voices and how were they dealt with? (4) What were the changes in people's attitude towards translating Western Learning? (5) What impact did such translation activities have on China socially, politically and culturally?

Amalgamation of Literariness: Translations as a Means of Introducing European Literary Techniques to Modern Japan, Ohsawa Yoshihiro, pp 135-154.
Source-oriented attitudes formed through early contacts with Classical Chinese texts led to an acceptance of 'translationese' in Japan and continued to shape translators' attitudes throughout subsequent contacts with texts in European languages. The great differences between the indigenous literary tradition and European texts newly imported in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) sparked moves for a new vernacular-based written language and a revitalization of native literary traditions by drawing on translations for inspiration. The resulting language had a foreign ring to it, but its innovative effect led to its use not only in translations, but also in original works right through to today, such that the Japanese language now represents an amalgam of European and Japanese literary elements, with foreign elements being incorporated on a selective basis. The paper concludes by contrasting the situation in Japan with the typically target-oriented English translations of Japanese literature.

The Lover's Silence, The People's Voice: Translating Nationalist Poetics in the Colonial Period in Korea, Theresa Hyun, pp 155-168.
Koreans began to formulate their sense of modern nationhood during the period when they were faced with colonial oppression by Japan. At that time translations of foreign works contributed to the creation of modern literary forms as well as to broader cultural changes. The translators of the 1920s and 30s engaged in lively debates about the role of translation in enriching Korean language and culture. Kim Ok, one of the most prominent translators of the time, emphasized the efficacy of translating the works of the Indian poets Rabindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu as a means of promoting Asian sentiments and philosophical outlook. Kim Ok's Tagore and Naidu translations relate to nationalist images in certain original Korean works of the period. Women writers such as Kim Myong-Sun and Mo Yun-Suk combined some of the feminist and nationalist tendencies found in translated works. An examination of literary translations in the colonial period in Korea yields insights into the relationship of translation to changes in gender and national identities.

Sino-Vietnamese Translation from Classical to Vernacular, Keith W. Taylor, pp. 169-194.
This essay offers a brief survey of translation practices among Vietnamese speakers and, as an example, analyzes a seventeenth-century translation of a Buddhist text from Classical Chinese into vernacular Vietnamese that survives in an eighteenth-century reprinting. Analyses of places in the text where a discernible divergence appears between the source text and the target text offer opportunities to examine choices made by the translator and to explore the cultural context that might have plausibly conditioned those choices.

Rethinking the Translation in Translation Studies: Questions from Makassar, Indonesia, William Cummings, pp 195-210.
The Indonesian region of Makassar has long been a crossroads for trade and a contact zone in which speakers of diverse languages interacted. Since at least the early modern era, Makassarese were extraordinarily interested in foreign languages and written manuscripts. Yet despite this cosmopolitan background, with few exceptions Makassarese translated but a handful of foreign works. The explanation lies in the assumptions behind the process we term translation. This essay uses the example of Makassar to rethink the motivations and meanings that can be attached to translation. Translation must be viewed as part of a spectrum of possible relationships to foreign languages and foreign texts, all of which are means of gaining access to another culture through language. Translation may have surrogates of its own because of how it is enmeshed in the establishment, negotiation, and perpetuation of social relationships. The initially puzzling dearth of translations into Makassarese offers a window into the complexity of the linguistic and cultural dynamics that characterize contact zones throughout the Indonesian archipelago and beyond.

Translation in the Malay World: Different Communities, Different Agendas, Doris Jedamski, pp 211-245.
For many centuries in the Malay world active and questioning use has been made of Arabic, Chinese, Indian and European source texts of all kinds. They were translated into Malay as well as into regional languages. This artic…