In the history of world literature, some people have developed into a specialized knowledge because of their research on specific writers. For example, the study of English dramatist Shakespeare is called "Shakespeare study" and the study of Irish writer James Joyce is called "Joe study". Few people develop specialized knowledge because of the study of a book. A dream of red mansions is one. This is a special phenomenon in the history of literature.
A Dream of Red Mansions was first published in the fifty-sixth year of Qianlong (179 1). By the end of the Qing Dynasty, some scholars called the research and comments on A Dream of Red Mansions "Dream of Red Mansions". Since then, A Dream of Red Mansions has experienced a tortuous development process. Today, it has become a prominent school, attracting attention not only in China, but also abroad.
A Dream of Red Mansions, as a literary classic, has lasting charm. It originated and spread in China culture and also spread in foreign cultures-mainly through its translation. A Dream of Red Mansions has been translated into fifteen or sixteen languages. As far as English translation is concerned, its translation has experienced a long history. In their book An Unforgettable Journey, Professor Chen Hongwei and Professor Fan Jiang said that since Davis, a member of the Royal Society, translated the third episode of A Dream of Red Mansions in 1830, nine English versions have been produced since 160. All the translations before Hawkes/Minford and Queen Yang's full versions were abridged versions, among which Wang Liangzhi's (1927) and Wang Jizhen's (1929) had great influence on the spread of A Dream of Red Mansions in the West.
In 1970s, DavidHawkes, a British sinologist, began to translate the first 80 chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions, which was published by Penguin Publishing Company. The translation is called Story/Stone and is divided into three volumes. The first volume, The Golden Age (1973), includes the first 26 chapters. Roll 2 crab flower show (1977), including 27-53 times; The third volume of early warning voice (1980) was recorded 54-80 times. Later, John Minford translated Hawkes' Dream of Red Mansions for the last forty times and published it in two volumes. The fourth volume, Debto/Tears (1982), contains 8 1-98 chapters. The fifth volume, Wake of Reamer (1986), includes 99- 120 chapters.
At the end of 1970s, Yang Xianyi and Fu also started the great project of translating A Dream of Red Mansions, which was published in three volumes by foreign languages press (Beijing) on 1978- 1980, and translated as Four Dreams of Red Mansions.
The publication of two English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions is not only a major event in cultural exchange between China and English-speaking countries, but also a major event in literary translation, which has promoted the translation process of China's classical novels. Less than 10 years, The Journey to the West (//ourneycOthe West, 1982) translated by Jenner, Water Margin O/ Water Margin translated by SidneyShapiro (1988) translated by Moss Roberts. So far, four English versions of China's classical literature have been published. In the process of promoting the English translation of China classical literature and making it flourish, the English translators of A Dream of Red Mansions have made great contributions.
With the translation and publication of A Dream of Red Mansions, a good situation of translation criticism and research of A Dream of Red Mansions has emerged. Since David Hawkes published the first volume of golden times in 1973, people have started to write articles about the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. According to incomplete statistics, up to now, there have been more than 70 articles on Hawkes/Minford translation and Yang's translation, which are scattered all over the country. Together with more than 30 articles collected here, there are more than 100. During this period, there have also been some monographs on the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. For example, Professor's comparative study on the English translation of poems, songs and poems in A Dream of Red Mansions is a good start for systematic study of A Dream of Red Mansions. Nowadays, more and more people are studying the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. In addition to experts and scholars, there are young teachers and graduate students. In this case, how to deepen the translation study of A Dream of Red Mansions, make it a special research topic, and make contributions to the construction of translation discipline is a problem worthy of discussion.
Judging from the income section here, there are two kinds. One is macro research, which breaks through the single model of "norm-analysis-conclusion" and "equivalence" in the past, returns to the historical and cultural background, and studies the interactive relationship between the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions and the historical, political, cultural and literary trends at that time, which embodies the scientific research nature of paying attention to historical description and interpretation; There is also a study on the translation system, strategies, translation tendencies and compensation strategies of A Dream of Red Mansions, which is also worthy of attention. The other is micro-type research, which mostly involves cultural and linguistic issues. It evaluates the translated works and the original works and the relationship between them through interpretation and criticism, and makes aesthetic and other value judgments on the translated works.
These two kinds of research have their own functions and values. Macro-research can help us understand how the communication and understanding between different cultures are realized; Micro-study can help us think about how to translate well and how to train good translators, so as to truly realize the purpose of cultural exchange. Lefe-vere and Basnight compare them to two houses in a translation building. There is no reason why they can't be placed side by side.
The purpose of translation research is not only to describe and explain translation activities objectively and scientifically, but also to summarize translation theoretically by studying translation process and translated works, so as to correct the understanding of translation, improve translation quality and promote translation development.
Feng Qiyong, a famous redologist, said: A Dream of Red Mansions is Li Sao by Kubinashi, and it is also a masterpiece of storytellers. Since The Dream of Red Mansions came out, China's classical novels have never surpassed his works. A Dream of Red Mansions is a novel "Before me, where was the lost time?"? Behind me, are the future generations? " !
People who have read A Dream of Red Mansions probably agree with this view, even foreigners who have read A Dream of Red Mansions hold the same view. Marina Charno Gorska, a Slovak translator, said: Because it is a symphony of brilliant novels, essays and poems, it is an encyclopedia of all the important achievements of China culture, and it is a novel with an important philosophy of life and world outlook-such a master literary work does not exist anywhere else in the world.
Translators of A Dream of Red Mansions and future translators of A Dream of Red Mansions shoulder a great and arduous mission, that is, to make English readers realize that A Dream of Red Mansions is a masterpiece through translation. Where were those lost times before me? Behind me, where is the next generation? And it is a work that is not found anywhere else in the world. If our translation can't reach this level, we will live up to this great work.
Mr. Qian Gurong believes that all literary works should be poems, and all should have poetic meanings. He said that Li Bai's and Du Fu's poems are all poems, Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions and Lu Xun's Sunset Flowers are all poems, so we should not forget the essence of literary works when studying literature. His words have profound implications for translation researchers and translators of literary works: what is the "poetry" in A Dream of Red Mansions, how it is expressed or implied, and how to experience and reproduce its "poetry" when translating A Dream of Red Mansions. This involves literary aesthetics and translation aesthetics, which is an unavoidable problem in the translation and research of A Dream of Red Mansions.
Although the translation study of A Dream of Red Mansions is a case study, we can draw rich inspiration and resources from the comparative study of two languages, two literatures and two cultures, and sort it out in a scientific way, which can make our translation study based on the comparative study of languages, literature and culture, and make some discoveries in comparative linguistics, comparative culturology, literary aesthetics and translation poetics, so as to make our own contributions to the construction of translation studies and the development of translation cause.
From October to October, 2002, the School of Foreign Languages of Nankai University and the editorial department of China Translation jointly held the "National Seminar on the Translation of A Dream of Red Mansions", which was a seminar on the translation of classic literary works. A large number of documents received by the conference are collected here in part to make up for the collection and commemorative occasions. At the same time, I also take this opportunity to share information and experience with scholars and jointly promote the translation study of A Dream of Red Mansions.
In the history of world literature, a writer has developed a special knowledge because of his specific research. For example, Shakespeare, an English dramatist, is called "learning sand", and James Joyce, an Irish writer, is called "learning Joe" because a book specially researched and developed into a primary school question, and A Dream of Red Mansions is a book. This is a special literary phenomenon.
A Dream of Red Mansions was first published in the fifty-sixth year of Qianlong (179 1). By the end of the Qing Dynasty, some scholars called the research and comments on A Dream of Red Mansions a Dream of Red Mansions. Since then, A Dream of Red Mansions has experienced a tortuous development process, and it has become a significant knowledge, which has attracted much attention not only in China, but also in other countries.
As a literary classic with lasting charm, A Dream of Red Mansions has a culture in China and a culture spread in a foreign land-mainly through its spread. At present, A Dream of Red Mansions has been translated into many languages. As for English translation, its translation has experienced a long history. And Professor Chen Hongwei Fan Jiang said in their book Unforgettable Journey that nine English versions have been produced since 1830, the third year when the Royal Translation Society fragmented A Dream of Red Mansions, that is, 160 years ago. Before Hawkes/Min Yang Xian Yi Ford and The Queen's Husband were translated, Wang Chi (1927) and Wang Jizhen (1929) had great influence in promoting the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions in the West.
In 1970s, David Hawkes (David Hawkes), a British sinologist, began to translate the first 80 chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions, which was published by Penguin Books, England, with the title The Story of the Stone, consisting of three volumes. The first volume, The Golden Age (1973), includes the first 26 chapters. Erxie Flower Festival (1977), including Hui 27-53; III early warning voice (1980), including 54-80. Later, John Minford published TheDebto/Tears (1982) in Volume IV of two volumes, the 40th time after Hawkes' translation of A Dream of Red Mansions, including the 8th time1-98; Reamer V wake (1986), including the return to 99- 120.
At the end of 1970s, Yang Hsien-yi and Li Xiaolan also began to translate the masterpiece A Dream of Red Mansions, which was published in three volumes by foreign languages press (Beijing) on 1978-1980, with the title' May/Mr Dream of Red Mansions'.
The publication of two English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions is not only a cultural exchange between China and major English-speaking countries, but also a major event in literary translation, which promotes the translation process of China's classical novels. In less than ten years, The ourneycOthe West (,1982) translated by W.J. P. Jenner and The Outlaws of the Marsh (algorithms O/the Marsh,1) translated by SidneyShapiro were also published. So far, the English translation of four China classical literary works has been a homogeneous whole. In the process of promoting the English translation of China's classical literature and making it enter a dynamic growth, the English translators of A Dream of Red Mansions have made great contributions.
With the translation and publication of A Dream of Red Mansions, a good situation of critical research on the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions has emerged. Since David Hawkes's first volume was published in 1973, people began to write articles on the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. According to incomplete statistics, the research on Hawkes/Minford's translation and Yang Xianyi/Dai Naidie's translation is scattered everywhere, with more than 70 articles. Together with the 30 essays collected here, there are 100-foot articles. During this period, monographs on the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions came out, such as the comparative study of English translations of < A Dream of Red Mansions > by Professor Wang Hongyin of Nankai University, which is a good start for the systematic study of Qu Fu and A Dream of Red Mansions. Nowadays, more and more people are studying the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. There are experts and scholars outside, as well as young teachers and graduate students. In this case, it is worthwhile to explore how to deepen the translation study of A Dream of Red Mansions, which may make it a special research topic and contribute to the construction of translation as a discipline.
There are generally two kinds of articles seen from here. First, macro-type research, which breaks through the single mode of "standard-analysis-conclusion" and "equivalence" in the past, returns to the historical and cultural background and studies the interactive thought between the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions and history, politics, culture and literature, which embodies the nature of scientific research based on historical description and interpretation; There are still some problems in this genre, such as the translation system, strategies, translation compensation trends and strategies, which deserve attention. The other kind of research is to judge the aesthetic and other values of the translation at the micro, multicultural and linguistic levels by explaining the relationship between the way of criticism and the translation of the original text and their evaluation.
These two kinds of learning have their own functions and values. Macro-research can help us understand the communication between different cultures and how a process is realized. Micro-study can help us think about how to translate well and how to train a good translator, so as to truly achieve the purpose of cultural exchange. There is no reason why Andr6 Lefe-vere Susan Bassneff should not stand side by side compared with the translation of these two buildings in the two houses.
The purpose of translation research is not only to describe and explain translation activities objectively and scientifically, but also to summarize translation theoretically by studying translation process and translation work, so as to correctly understand translation, improve translation quality and promote translation development.
The master said: A Dream of Red Mansions is a blank poem Li Sao, and it is also a farewell work of Li Sao. Since the publication of A Dream of Red Mansions, China's classical novels have never surpassed its works. "Dream of Red Mansions" is a "unprecedented, after no one" eternal swan song!
People who have read A Dream of Red Mansions probably agree with this view, and even foreigners who have read A Dream of Red Mansions hold the same view. Marina Camogul3ka, a Slovak translator, said: Because it is a symphony of genius's novels, promises and poems, it is an encyclopedia that brings together all the important achievements of China culture, and it is a novel that contains important philosophy of life and world outlook-and the works of this literary master do not exist anywhere else in the world.
A dream of red mansions and future translators, the translators of a dream of red mansions shoulder a great and arduous mission, that is, through the president, let British readers know that a dream of red mansions is a work that is "not ancient before, but not ancient later" and that it does not exist anywhere else in the world. If we can't reach this level, let this great work.
Mr. Qian Gurong believes that all literary works should be poems, and poems should have their meanings. He said that Li Bai and Du Fu's poems are poems, Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions and Lu Xun's Flowers Bloom and Fall are poems, and literary research should not forget that the essence of literature is poetry. What he said has profound implications for the translation researchers and translators of literary works: in what form is "meaning is poetry" in A Dream of Red Mansions expressed or implied, including how to reproduce it in order to experience "meaning is poetry" in translation of A Dream of Red Mansions, which involves literary aesthetics and is an unavoidable problem in translation and research of A Dream of Red Mansions.
Although A Dream of Red Mansions is a case study of translation studies, we can draw rich enlightenment and resources from the study of two languages and two types of comparative literature and culture, and sort it out scientifically, which can make our translation studies based on the comparative study of languages, literature and culture, and make some discoveries in comparative linguistics, comparative culture, literary aesthetics and translation poetics, so as to make our own contributions to the construction of translation studies and the development of translation cause.