暨南大学硕士学位论文

暨南大学硕士学位论文题名（中英对照）：《闲情偶寄》（节选）翻译报告A Translation Report on Xian Qing Ou Ji (Excerpts) 作者姓名：郭轶凡指导教师姓名及学位、职称：李国庆教授刘婷玉讲师学科、专业名称：英语笔译学位类型：专业学位论文提交日期：2018年6月27日论文答辩日期：2018年5月23日答辩委员会主席：曾蕾论文评阅人：学位授予单位和日期：AbstractThis thesis is a translation report on the excerpt (Chapter Yinzhuan and Chapter Zhongzhi) from Xian Qing Ou Ji(Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling), which was written by a famous litterateur Li Yu in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. The book primarily presents the worldly custom and civilized living of Chinese people in the 17th century.With a view to the abundant cultural-loaded terms in the source text, the translator tries to analyze the translation under the guidance of Kwame Anthony Appiah’s Thick Translation Theory. This translation report consists of four parts. Chapter One: task description, a brief introduction to the translation task. Chapter Two: the process of translation, including preparations, the translation tools used and proofreading. Chapter Three: case study, the main body of the report, the analysis of the translation based on thick translation theory. Among all strategies, patatext is proved to be the most efficient and fluently used one. Chapter Four: conclusions and suggestions, including the experiences learned during the translation process and the unsolved problems.Key words: Thick Translation; Xian Qing Ou Ji; Li Yu.摘要本篇翻译报告以李渔（明末清初文学家、戏剧家）的《闲情偶寄》（节选）作为翻译材料。

本报告主要对该书的“饮馔部”及“种植部”（节选）进行翻译分析探究。

《闲情偶寄》一书主要从戏曲、修容、歌舞、器玩、园林建筑、饮食、花草树木、养生八个方面，记录了明末清初时期的艺术和生活方式。

原文属中国经典文学作品，用文言文写作，涵盖大量文化负载词及历史文化背景知识。

因此，译者选取了深度翻译理论作为翻译实践的指导。

本篇翻译实践报告由四部分组成：第一章，翻译任务描述，包括原文作者介绍、导师要求等。

第二章，翻译过程描述，包括译前准备、翻译过程和译后审校修改。

第三章，案例分析，本章作为本文主体，主要包括为解决翻译中遇到的难点（文化意象、历史信息等）所用到的方法和技巧，分析时借助了阿皮尔的深度翻译理论，分类进行分析。

在本次翻译实践中，副文本翻译策略最为常用且效果最佳。

第四章，翻译实践总结，包括此次翻译任务体会、收获反思以及翻译中不足之处。

关键词：《闲情偶寄》；深度翻译；李渔ContentsAbstract (I)摘要 (II)Contents III Chapter One Task Description (1)1.1 An Introduction to the Translation Task 11.1.1 About the Author (1)1.1.2 About the Work (2)1.1.3 About the Source Text (2)1.2 Requirements for the Task (4)Chapter Two Procedure Description (5)2.1 Preparations before Translation (5)2.1.1 Selection of the Source Text (5)2.1.2 Preparation Procedure (5)2.2 Translation Procedure (6)2.3 Proofreading (7)Chapter Three Case Study (8)3.1 Thick Translation (8)3.2 Case Study with Thick Translation Strategies (11)3.2.1 Paratext (11)3.2.2 Annotations within the Text (20)3.2.3 Literal Translation (24)3.2.4 Paraphrase (30)Chapter Four Summary (35)4.1 Report Overview (35)4.2 Reflections (36)Bibliography (37)Acknowledgments (39)Appendix (40)Chapter One Task Description1.1An Introduction to the Translation Task1.1.1 About the AuthorLi Yu (1610–1680 AD), with a courtesy name Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher in the late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. He was born in a rich family in Rugao, now Jiangsu Province.He was known as a gifted youth ever since he was a little boy because it was said that he could compose poems at the age of eight and he planned to become a government official. Although he passed the first stage of the imperial examination in 1635, he failed to pass the higher levels in 1639 before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market.From 1666 to 1673, Li was an actor, producer, and director as well as a playwright, who traveled with his own family troupe that has brought him high reputations as well as considerable amount of money. His play Feng Zheng Wu (Errors caused by the Kite) is still one of the favorites in the Chinese Kun opera. His biographer Xu Baowei called him a "writer-entrepreneur" and the “most versatile and enterprising writer of his time”. In the meanwhile, Li summed up his daily life experiences, opera performance and script writing skills in his the book Xian Qing Ou Ji(Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling). Unfortunately, after the two famous leading actors of his troupe Qiao and Wang passing away in 1672 and 1673 respectively, Li began to live an idle life and died of illness at the age of seventy.Li has finished lots of works that has great impact to later generations. Li is the presumed author of Rou Pu Tuan(The Carnal Prayer Mat), a well-crafted comedy and a classic of Chinese erotic literature. He also wrote a book of short stories called Shi’er Lou (Twelve Towers). In his time, he was widely read and welcomed as well as appreciated for his daringly bold subject matter. Moreover, Li was also known for hisinformal essays and his gastronomical writings. Lin Yutang spoke highly of Li and translated several Li’s essays. Not only a productive writer, Li was also a publisher himself and establish a press (Jie Zi Yuan Press) to publish his works in order to prevent plagiarism.1.1.2 About the WorkThe report is written on the basis of the translation of Xian Qing Ou Ji (Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling). Xian Qing Ou Ji, a collection of around 300 essays, came out in 1671. It has been regarded as an encyclopedia of life in ancient China. The content of the book is divided into eight different fields, including Shengrong (Women and Beauty), Ciqu (Writing Plays) , Yanxi (Putting on Plays), Jushi (Houses and Gardens), Qiwan (Furniture, China and the like), Yinzhuan (Food and Drink), Zhongzhi (Flowers and Trees), Yiyang (Health and Pleasure).With simple words, humorous descriptions and elaborate contents, the book was sold out shortly after publication and has a profound influence to the readers both at that time and future. As an extensive record on Li Yu’s experiences in every aspects of life, this book was highly appraised by Lin Yutang(1895-1976), a Chinese writer, translator, linguist, philosopher and inventor, as “a miniature of living art of Chinese people” in Lin’s My Country and My People(1935). A number of well-known modern essayists like Zhou Zuoren, Liang Shiqiua all spoke highly of the book and considered it as a precious masterpiece.1.1.3 About the Source TextThis report selects Chapter Yinzhuan(Food and Drink) and several sections from Chapter Zhongzhi(Flowers and Trees) as the source text. The source text is about fourteen thousand Chinese words. As for the main contents of the source text, Li Yu proposed the secret recipes of his daily dishes and the perspectives on various food materials in the Chapter Yinzhuan and shared the planting methods and appreciation methods of trees and flowers in the Chapter Zhongzhi. At the same time, Li’s views oflife can be seen from his eating habits and planting preference, such as he preferred vegetables than meats and could not curb his anger when hearing the atrocity of the goose cook. Not only thought-provoking, those two chapters are also practical for many cooking methods and planting tips are still available today.According to Katharina Reiss’s text typology theory, Xian Qing Ou Ji,an ancient Chinese Prose, is an expressive text that could fully express the author’s emotions and attitudes. Xian Qing Ou Ji(Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling) is a Chinese classic written in classical Chinese that differs greatly from modern Chinese works. Hence, the translation process of the source text includes both intralingual translation that is from ancient Chinese to modern Chinese and interlingual translation that is from modern Chinese to English. It requires that the translator must be proficient in ancient Chinese, modern Chinese as well as English. Besides, the translator should have the knowledge of the cultural and historical backgrounds.It took the translator around nine months to finish the translation. Due to the well-rounded information provided, the extraordinary writing style presented and the fascinating insights displayed, the translation process is a precious learning experience for the translator.Chinese classics are the essence of traditional Chinese culture. With the trend of cultural globalization, the translation of Chinese classics is urgently needed with the purpose of spreading Chinese culture and the translation of this book is of practical significance nowadays.1.2Requirements for the TaskAs it was required by the supervisor, faithfulness and expressiveness are necessary in the translation of Xian Qing Ou Ji.Faithfulness, as the foremost requirement, must be strict followed. First, the translator must read the source text repeatedly to fully understand the main idea of the source text as well as the author’s intention. Secondly, the translator needs to have a solid understanding of cultural backgrounds, historical backgrounds, author’s backgrounds and experiences because the source text was finished three hundred years ago. Moreover, the book, written in ancient Chinese which is hard to understand even as a native speaker, requires the translator has certain intralingual translation ability. Thirdly, during the translation process, no missing translation, no redundant translation and no mistranslation is allowed which requires extreme carefulness and thoroughness.As the translated version is targeted for foreign readers, expressiveness is another important requirement. The translator should have certain English ability and skills to make sure that the target text is understandable and readable to target readers. As a famous essay collection, the source text is vivid and fluent. Therefore, the translated version should be able to reflect those characteristics in accordance with English expressions. Moreover, because of the various cultural information provided, necessary explains must be made for a clear illustration.After the translation work is done, the translator must go over it for at least three times to avoid grammar mistakes, needless duplication or pretermission. With the help of the supervisor, several times of modifications have been made so as to offer a good translation work.Chapter Two Procedure Description2.1 Preparations before Translation2.1.1 Selection of the Source TextWith the suggestion of her supervisor, the translator has chosen Chapter Yinzhuan(Food and Drink) and Chapter Zhongzhi(Trees and Flowers) from Xian Qing Ou Ji(Casual Expressions of Idle Feeling), a book written by Li Yu, as the source text. Chapter Yinzhuan and Chapter Zhongzhi, as shown in the title, mainly described everyday meals and plants that are available in ordinary people’s daily life.The source text has been chosen for three reasons: First, this book is distinguished from other books of its time because of the comprehensive information provided, the unique writing style presented and the original insights of the author. Besides, with the trend of cultural globalization, the translation of Chinese classics is urgently needed and the translation of this book is of practical significance. Second, the translator’s supervisor, Professor Li, dedicates herself to the studies of Chinese classics translation and has made great efforts to the translation of this book. Under the guidance of the professor, even though the translation of this book is rather demanding and difficult, the translator can benefit a lot from the guidance of Professor Li. Third, the translator is interested in Chinese classical culture and wants to take this opportunity to make a bold attempt to pay homage to traditional Chinese culture.2.1.2 Preparation ProcedureVarious kinds preparation works should be done before the translation. Firstly, since intralingual translation is required before interlingual translation, the translator must have a fully understanding of the source text written in classical Chinese. Thus,the translator prepared several dictionaries of classical Chinese, some books of common knowledge about traditional Chinese culture, some book reviews of Li Yu’s work made by Chinese writers and historical books of late-Ming and early-Qing dynasties. Secondly, various kinds of translation tools were prepared before translation, such as bilingual dictionaries and Wikipedia. These tools turned out to be quite helpful with difficult words and cultural images. Thirdly, with respect to those cultural-loaded terms, appropriate translation skills and methods could be of great help. Therefore, the translator went over some papers and related books about the translation of Chinese classics to get some experiences.2.2 Translation ProcedureAfter preliminary preparation, first, the translator read the source text thoroughly and borrowed several modern Chinese versions of the source text so that she could have a basic understanding of the source text.Second, the translator read those papers and works collected from network and school library about English version of Chinese classics and decided to finish the translation under the guidance of thick translation method after consulting the supervisor.Third, since the source text is mainly about food materials, flowers and trees, the translator searched lots of information about them to make the translation more accurate.Fourth, the translator compared several modern Chinese versions of the source text and finished the process of intralingual translation.Fifth, the translator translated the modified modern Chinese version into English and picked out all translation difficulties for further polishing.Finally, the translator tried her best to constantly modify the translation especially those difficult expressions to improve the quality with the help of classmates and supervisor.2.3 ProofreadingAfter overall translating, the translation work has been proofread for several times with the joint effort of the translator, her classmates, supervisor Li and associate supervisor Liu.First, the translator proofread the translation for three times to make sure that there are no grammar and spelling mistakes, redundant expressions and translation permissions. For those difficult expressions, the translator discussed it with her classmate Ms Yi who has a profound knowledge of traditional Chinese culture. After self-proofreading, Ms Chen, an earnest school mate of the translator, volunteered to further proofread the translation work to ensure the translation work is fluent, understandable, clear and coherent. The final proofreading was done by supervisor Li and associate supervisor Liu. With their solid language skills and profound theoretical foundation, they offered lots of valuable suggestions with which the translation was greatly polished.Chapter Three Case Study3.1 Thick TranslationIn this report, the translator applies Appiah’s thick translation method as the guiding theory. The concept of “thick translation”originates from an American anthropologist Clifford Geertz’s concept of thick description, which Geertz borrows from the philosopher Gilbert Ryle to characterize the work of an ethnographer. According to Geertz, the description of the ethnographer is to explicate explications. Such a description “requires not only detailed engagement with the phenomenon and its context, but also considerable interpretive effort” (Hermans 2003), namely, thick description.Inspired by Clifford Geertz, a translation scholar Appiah from Harvard University put forward in his cognominal essay the concept of thick translation, or thick contextualization. Appiah described thick translation as “a translation that seeks with its annotations and its accompanying glosses to locate the text in a rich cultural and linguistic context”. (Appiah 1993) According to Appiah, translation was not the accurate conversion from one language to another owing to the cultural distinctions. Since the barriers between source text and target text always exist, the translation can not fully express what the author wants to say by simply translating the literal meaning of the source text.Appiah emphasized the importance of intention, context and cultural differences. Taking the English translation of proverbs in Africa as an example, he pointed out that these proverbs have literal meaning but the literal meaning is only the conventional meaning of the combination of these words, and the real meaning should be to understand why the speaker said so, that is, to understand the speaker's intention. Appiah believed that in order to understand the speaker's intention, we must interpret the context correctly and do "thick contextualization". To truly understand the meaning of the proverbs, we should first understand the genre of the proverbs. The main feature of proverbs is that instead of their literal meaning, the truth orphilosophy expressed in the proverb really matters. Moreover, Appiah clearly pointed out that translation must be carried out with the awareness of cultural differences. Only with the understanding of cultural differences can the translator truly respect the culture of target readers.Appiah believed "thick translation" is a kind of “academic translation”, that is, putting the text in rich cultural and linguistic environment by annotating to preserve the culture characteristics of the source language. In 1994, Liu Miqing, a Chinese translator, put forward that from the cultural and historical perspective, the text should be viewed in historical background and add certain historical facts as the footnote. Moreover, the uncertainty of translation work could be verified through author's life experience, values and points of view that has been showed in author’s other works.Since the source text is written in ancient Chinese and includes lots of cultural connotations and cultural-loaded terms which are biggest obstacles of translating. In brief, culture is the entire way of life of a society and all forms of activities of a nation including clothes, food, production, education, politics, law, custom, historical allusions, thinking mode, value orientation, religion. Words, as the basic unit of language, is the most direct reflection of cultural factors. Scholars have shared different views on the definition of cultural-loaded words. Nida believes that culture-loaded words are words and expressions exclusive to a specific culture but can only find similar or even no corresponding substitutions in another culture. Mona Baker agrees that culture-loaded lexemes are soaked in and mirroring the cultural connotations of a language community. Liao Qiyi thinks culture-loaded words refer to words, phrases and idioms that define specific things in a certain culture. (Liao 2002) For the classification of culture-loaded words, Nida divided culture-loaded words into five categories according to five major elements of culture, namely, the ecological culture-loaded words, the religious culture-loaded words, the social culture-loaded words, the linguistic culture-loaded words and the material culture-loaded words.Combined translation strategies provided by thick translation has been used by famous translators in translating Chinese classics such as The Analects of Confuciusand Tao Te Ching and thick translation proved to be best applied in those classics to explicate the cultural and historical backgrounds.A successful example of applying thick translation is the translation of An Anthology of Chinese Discourse on Translation, done by professor Zhang Peiyao from Hong Kong Baptist University and a group of Chinese scholars. It is highly praised as a pioneering work of the translation of Chinese classics. Mario Tymoczko said, “(Zhang Peiyao) has set a good example for other academic researches. Her 'thick translation' allows readers to understand Chinese cultural concepts and terms related to translation, even if they know little about Chinese culture.” The success of the book lies in Zhang's unique compilation principles of selection and translation, especially the application of annotations. Zhang has added 328 notes in the anthology, excluding the 18 notes of the introduction, which provided detailed explanations, background information and research materials for source text. It could not only help the western readers to understand the original text but could also reinterpret the traditional translation theory from a new perspective.3.2 Case Study with Thick Translation Strategies3.2.1 ParatextA French literary theorist Gérard Genette defines paratext as the things such as the author's name, the title, preface or introduction, or illustrations in a published work that accompany the text. Genette states “More than a boundary or a sealed border, the paratext is, rather, a threshold.” It is “a zone between text and off-text, a zone not only of transition but also of transaction: a privileged place of pragmatics and a strategy, of an influence on the public, an influence that ... is at the service of a better reception for the text and a more pertinent reading of it”.From the definition given by Genette, paratext, though it is not the main body of the text, has certain impacts on the works and readers. When it comes to translation, paratext could exert positive effects on the target readers who expect to have a thorough and detailed understanding of the source text. Genette has classified the paratext into two types: peritext, including the author’s name, title, book cover, spine, preface, foreword, inscription, appendix and postscript, and epitext, including those interviews, comments, diaries and letters that are related to the text. In the translation of the source text, the translator has applied the method of paratext mainly through illustrations, annotations and commentaries.a)IllustrationsIllustrations are visual explanations of an article or a book that can usually help readers to understand the context. The source text, as a Chinese classic written in ancient Chinese, was finished in ancient China that some images in the work are unfamiliar to target readers. The translator tried to add some pictures in the translation with captions as illustrations to give an intuitive experience to target readers. Moreover, the appropriate usage of illustration has solved the difficulties of the translation of certain proper names. Thus, the translator believed the strategy of illustration is a sound exploration.。