English Abstracts of Major Papers

In Pursuit of Truth, Virtue and Beauty: A Harmoniously Balanced Mode of  Translation as Methodology 

By YANG Feng & LI Siyi (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China) p. 9 

Abstract: Methodology offers both workable rules for conducting research and criteria for theory production. Proceeding from the methodology, epistemology and axiology that inform a knowledgecentered translatology, this paper explores the philosophical roots, intension and values underlying the conception of a harmoniously balanced mode of translation, one that is committed to the pursuit of truth, virtue and beauty as its general methodological principle, and devoted to the promotion of mutual learning among the cultures involved as its function for reproducing knowledge through translation. 

Keywords: knowledge-centered translatology; truth, virtue and beauty; a harmoniously balanced mode of translation; methodology 

A Probe into the Theoretical Propositions of Epistemic Translatology 

By LIU Junping (Wuhan University, Wuhan, China) p. 16 

Abstract: Epistemic Translatology’s theoretical claims are necessitated by the internal logic of an integration between translatology and epistemology. Due to this amalgamation, Translation Studies has crossed its boundaries with other disciplinary discourses and is undergoing integrated research as a complex system. By taking this innovative approach, Translation Studies is able to further consolidate its  theoretical base, renew its paradigms, focus more closely on its pursuit of truth, benevolence and beauty, and enhance its own theoretical consciousness. Introducing Epistemology into Translation Studies has given rise to a series of new research topics and problematics, resulting in methodological innovations,  conceptual renewal, and creation of new paradigms and knowledge. It is of special value in particular for Chinese TS’s efforts to achieve theoretical independence and intellectual autonomy. To further the research in Epistemic Translatology, this paper focuses on its propositions regarding the relationship between word and object, word and event, and word and person, elaborating on its central claim to advocating the simultaneous realization of truth, beauty and benevolence in the practice of translation.  

Keywords: Epistemic Translatology; theoretical proposition; the trinity of truth, beauty and benevolence; hermeneutics 

The Disciplinary Matrix of a Knowledge-centered Translatology 

By DU Shihong (Southwest University, Chongqing, China) p. 27 

Abstract: What is a knowledge-centered studies of translation? And how to define its disciplinary matrix? These two questions await investigation. This paper offers a theoretical examination of the four components of a knowledge-centered translatology’s disciplinary matrix, namely, its metaphysical foundation, theoretical formation, value judgment, and paradigm of practice, in line with Kant’s  classification of the four categories of knowledge understanding and judgment. Within such a matrix, we rethink typical instances of untranslatability so as to shed further light on the nature of knowledge transfer through translation. In conclusion, we argue that knowledge-centered translations can best be understood theoretically as involving a productive process whereby local knowledge is carried over to the transformative meeting ground of world knowledge, and practically, knowledge-centered translations are realized through mutually borrowing, identifying and producing of knowledge between two languages or  two forms of life, for the benefit of both parties.  

Keywords: knowledge-centered translatology; disciplinary matrix; knowledge translation; local knowledge; untranslatability 

Science as a Key to National Salvation: Sci-fi Translations in Four Late-Qing  Magazines of Fiction 

By HE He & XIONG Bing (Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China) p. 37 

Abstract: As internal and external crises confronting Late-Qing China deepened, Xin Xiaoshuo, Yueyue Xiaoshuo, Xiuxiang Xiaoshuo and Xiaoshuo Lin, the four major magazines of fiction in circulation at that period of time, commissioned a group of influential translators to have Jules Verne’s and Shunro Oshikawa’s popular works rendered into Chinese. As popular enthusiasm for science fiction was kindled by these translations, more quality European novels of this genre were introduced to Chinese readers almost immediately after they were published in their original languages, including French and Dutch. This paper undertakes a historical investigation into the sci-fi translations published in the four above-mentioned Chinese magazines of fiction, and finds that those who were involved in introducing the sci-fi genre to China’s readership, through intermediate or direct translation, did so either to envision future scientific developments or to popularize new knowledge in the fields of geology, astronomy, medicine, psychology and physiology, or even to give expression to their own political aspirations by upholding martial spirit and boosting Chinese morale. The enlightening through sci-fi translation project was in line with the general trend for promoting national reform and salvation in the Late Qing period. 

Keywords: science fiction; the Four Novel Magazines in the Late Qing period; national salvation through science; translation and communication effect 

English Translations of Datang Xiyu Ji Over the Past Hundred Years: A  Critical Review 

By JIN Ping (Communication University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China) p. 44 

Abstract: Datang Xiyu Ji (The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions) by the Tang Chinese Buddhist  scholar Xuan Zang, is one of the earliest ancient Silk Road travelogues being translated into the European  languages. The study of its English translations is of great value for exploring the historical-cultural  identities of the civilizations along the ancient Silk Road and the international communication among them.  This paper subjects the history and the evolving features of its English translations over the past hundred  years to a critical examination, and reflects on the problems its introduction to the West has encountered.  The study concludes that what the English versions of Datang Xiyu Ji have in common is that they are  all cultural translations with anthropological characteristics, integrating the multidimensional values of  historical geography, Buddhist literature, cultural politics, etc. As such, future studies of its translation  should expand their purview beyond a narrow focus on how its Buddhistic ideas have been disseminated  to how its rich cross-cultural values are realized. The ultimate aim for such studies should be to find  more effective ways for the inheritance and regeneration of translation under the new historical-cultural conditions. 

Keywords: Datang Xiyu Ji; English translation and dissemination; cross-cultural value; inheritance; regeneration 

The Overseas Reincarnation of Traditional Culture: A Case Study of French Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics 

By WANG Tianyu (Southeast University, Nanjing, China) p. 53 

Abstract: France’s status as Europe’s hub for the education and research of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been established and sustained with its long history of Chinese-French translation of TCM classics. This translational history can be roughly divided into three phases of development: the collection and partial rendition of original materials from the 17th to the 19th century; the TCM research-serving translation from the early 20th century to the 1960s; and a refocusing on the TCM classics and the medical tradition they embody from the 1970s to the present. Identifying the subjective and objective factors that help to shape up the developmental trajectory of such an “application-oriented, research-driven project,” and throwing light on the universal significance TCM enjoys as a component of traditional Chinese culture, this paper stresses the need to re-set the study of TCM’s cultural dimension within a context broader than that of Chinese academia alone. 

Keywords: Traditional Chinese Medicine classics; France; translation; traditional culture