How to translate Chinese idioms

How to translate Chinese idioms
Idioms form an important part of Chinese language,and their translation techniques can not be ignored.A good translation of idiom can be a significant link of the communication between China and foreign countries.As far as I am concerned,the translation techniques of Chinese idioms could be roughly divided into three kinds: literal translation, using English equivalent,and translation of the thought.
The first technique is literal translation.It is known to us all that the original intention of translation is to convey the meaning of original text,which requires the translation should be faithful and keep the style consist to the original text.The literal translation can fully reflect Chinese culture and tradition,which makes it the most appropriate technique to translate Chinese idioms.For example,“三街六巷，凭他是谁，若得罪了我醉金刚倪二的街坊，管叫他人离家散！”（曹雪芹：《红楼梦》，第24 回）This sentence should be translated as"If anyone in the three streets or six lanes near by, no matter who he is, offends a neighbor of the Drunken Diamond, I’ll see to it that his relatives are scattered and his home destroyed."In this sentence,we can translate the idiom“三街六巷”as the neighborhood, but if we literally translate it as"the three streets or six lanes near by"would be better.Likewise,the idiom “人离家散”can be translated as"his relatives are scattered and his home destroyed".
The second technique is using equivalents to translate.Some English idioms not only have similar metaphor as Chinese idioms,but also have similar meanings.We can use these equivalents to translate.For instance,“只有大胆地、破釜沉舟地跟他们拼，还许有翻身的那一天！”（曹禺：《日出》，第2 幕）can be translated as "All you can do is to burn your boats and fight them in the hope that one day you’ll come out on top."In this sentence,we used the English idiom"to burn your boats"to express the meaning of “破釜沉舟”,it is not only faithful to the original text,but also keep the style consist to the original text.Similarly,the Chinese idioms as “火上加油”,“趁热打铁”,“得寸进尺” and “滴水穿石”,we can also uses the equivalents in English language to translate.We can translate these words as"To add fuel to the flames/fire","Strike while the iron is hot","Give him an inch and he’ll take an ell /a mile","Constant dropping wears/hollow out the stone".
The last technique is liberal translation.There is always some words can not be literally translated.Many Chinese idioms are concerned with Chinese history stories or Chinese traditions,these idioms cannot be translated literally,otherwise the foreign readers cannot understand their meanings.To exemplify what I mean,let's see this sentence.“真是个朝秦暮楚的家伙！”（李六如：《六十年的变迁》，第一卷，第六章)We can not translate the Chinese idiom literally,because the foreign readers don't know the history story of the idiom,and it is unnecessary to explain the history of the idiom.We can just translate this sentence as “Isn't he a cheap turnout!”In the same way,“杞人忧天”can be translated as "Unnecessary anxiety freely",“四面楚歌”can be translated as "Under fire from all quarters".
A good translation of Chinese idiom can make the text more vivid,and can be a vital bridge to disseminate traditional culture.
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钱超
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