English Abstracts of Major Papers

Two Aesthetically-oriented Relations in Traditional Chinese Theories of  Translation and Their Philosophical Foundation 

By FENG Lixia (Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China & Guangdong University of Foreign  Studies, Guangzhou, China) & LAN Hongjun (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou,  China) p. 5 

Abstract: The root cause for the bifurcating of traditional Chinese theories of translation (TCTT) and their Western counterparts is traceable to their differing philosophical foundations. Yet attempts to explore the differences of the two foundations are hampered by the commonly adopted “from (translation) theory to (philosophical) theory” approach, which tends to yield conclusions too general to have much explaining power. Since TCTT basically result from reflections on the problems which Chinese translators encountered in the human or textual relations bearing on their practices, this paper proposes that a “translation problem–translation thought–philosophical thought” approach be adopted instead. Such an approach would start with an analysis of the above-mentioned two sets of relations, focusing especially on an aesthetic orientation they share. The proposed approach promises a revelation of both the specific links between TCTT and Chinese philosophy and the distinct ethos embedded in the choices which the Chinese  translators made, rendering available new points of departure for a critical inheritance of TCTT. 

Keywords: TCTT; relation; aesthetic tendency; philosophical foundation 

Toward a Yi-enlightened Aesthetics of Translation 

By CHEN Dongcheng (Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China) p.14 

Abstract: Teeming with profound wisdom for the ways of heaven and earth, the Zhou Yi (Book of Changes) is also a vast reservoir of treasured resources for translation studies. Based on the principles expounded in the Zhou Yi, especially the five principles of production and reproduction, easiness and simplicity, change and transformation, thinking in images, and great harmony, this paper takes a fresh look at the aesthetic issues in translation epistemology, axiology and representation, in a tentative attempt to construct a Yienlightened, change-oriented and traditional Chinese culture-informed aesthetics of translation.  

Keywords: Zhou Yi; the five principles of the Zhou Yi; traditional Chinese culture; translation aesthetics 

Heightening Intuitive Sensibility in Conceptualization of Chinese Translation:  A Perspective from the Confucian Heart-mind Theory  

By YANG Zhenyuan (University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China) p.23 

Abstract: This paper argues that xinxing (heart-mind, a concept of Confucian philosophy) should be acknowledged as a key variant in the conception of translation and that failing to take it into proper consideration in this context could cause a serious imbalance between intuitive thinking and logical thinking, with thinking based on intuitive sensibility (TBIS) being greatly outweighed by thinking based on rules (TBR). To avoid the lopsidedness and to reduce the possibility of TBR’s straightjacketing dominance over our thinking, it is necessary to promote TBIS with a pivot toward benxin (original innocence) and an appeal for self-reflection, the two foci of the traditional Chinese heart-mind theory.  

Keywords: xinxing (heart-mind) theory; construction; thinking based on intuitive sensibility; thinking based on rules; benxin (original innocence)

The Translation of Li Bai’s Poems by Early 20th-Century German Poets:  With Klabund as an Example 

By ZHANG Xiaoyan (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China) p.30 

Abstract: The early 20th century witnessed a boom in German translation of Li Bai’s poems. Confronted with the dire realities of post-WWI Europe, carried by a “Tao-fever” then sweeping through the German intellectual circles and affected by the aesthetic appeal of expressionist poetics, German poets at that time, represented by Klabund, took a deep interest in Li Bai and had his poems freely adapted as articulations of anti-war sentiments, the “Chinese spirit” and the Taoist thought. The German poet-translators identified “elements of world literature” in Li Bai’s poetic works that they had found relevant to the German cultural conditions in the early 20th century. Their adaptive translations imbue Li Bai’s poems with contemporary significance and fresh poetic values, expanding his influences in the German-speaking world and helping to enhance the great Tang Chinese poet’s status as a major figure in world poetry. 

Keywords: Li Bai; German translation; Klabund; Nachdichtung 

Translator and Interpreter Education Research in China and Abroad: 2007-2022 

By MU Lei & LIANG Weiling (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China) p.48 

Abstracts: This paper reviews 538 academic articles on the training of translators and interpreters published from 2007 to 2022 in two representative journals: Chinese Translators Journal and The Interpreter and Translator Trainer. We subject these publications to a close examination in terms of their research fields, themes, genres and data types. This is followed by a detailed comparative analysis of the domestic and the international researches on teaching, learning, and testing conducted since the beginning of the 21st century. Our findings indicate that China’s translator and interpreter education research tends to adopt a macro perspective and engage in comprehensive and speculative kinds of conceptualization, while foreign scholars by and large prefer a micro perspective from which to conduct specific empirical studies characterized by the diversity and variety of their subjects and methods. The comparative study and its findings point to a new direction in which researchers in the field concerned may want to move in the future. 

Keywords: translator and interpreter education; research methodology; convergence and divergence; literature review

Development of Translation Studies in the Context of Large Language Models:  Issues and Prospects  

By HU Kaibao & LI Xiaoqian (Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China) p.64 

Abstract: The use of large language models has brought tremendous opportunities and challenges to translation practice and research. Following an introductory account of the development as well as the main features of large language models, this article analyzes the impacts their use has made on translation research and goes on to speculate on the future of translation studies as a result of this new development. It concludes that the use of large language models in translation practice has brought many changes to the subjects of translation and the attributes of translated texts, forcing translation scholars to rethink a wide range of issues concerning translation ethics, translator subjectivity, translator styles and ideology in translation, and it has also brought about changes in methodology of translation research, ushering in a growing trend toward data-driven and visualization-based approaches.  

Keywords: large langue model; translation studies; translation ethics; translation and ideology