Source: translators association of china Network

At many national translation seminars, translation colleagues hope that translators association of china will organize experts and scholars to compile a dictionary of translation knowledge. This hope is of course the long-cherished wish of our colleagues in the Translation Association. However, it is not easy to turn the hopes of translation circles into reality. The compilation of China Translation Dictionary has experienced a process of accumulation. First of all, in the 1990s, translators association of china has been carrying out activities for nearly ten years. In the past ten years, the staff of the editorial department of China Translation magazine, while completing the publishing task, also took the time to edit and publish seven translation books such as Essays on Translation Studies and the first China Translator's Dictionary in China. The publication of these books has accumulated relevant information and experience for us to compile this dictionary later; Second, translators association of china has always attached great importance to the academic exchange of translation. Over the past decade, more than 20 national translation academic seminars and forums have been held in the fields of literature, social sciences, science and technology, foreign affairs interpretation, translation theory and translation teaching. Nearly 100 people attended each meeting and provided nearly 100 academic papers. This team and its research results also provide rich academic resources for compiling this dictionary. The third and more important accumulation is that since the publication of China Translation magazine for ten years, it has United a large number of outstanding writers with expertise in translation and a large number of readers who are keen on academic exchanges in translation. They are all inexhaustible talents who compile this dictionary.

After a preliminary consideration of the compilation, we set out to seek the support of the publishing house. 199 1 Mr. Guo, a professor of English Department of Wuhan University, came to Beijing for a meeting and asked me about the progress of dictionary editing. He mentioned that the Foreign Language Editorial Department of Hubei Education Press intends to write an encyclopedia dictionary with China's translation knowledge. This topic is completely in line with my idea. I asked him to arrange this for me when he returned to Wuhan. 1991March, Ms. Jin Tang, Director of Foreign Language Editorial Office of Hubei Education Press, wrote to me, asking me to take the lead in editing the China Translation Dictionary, and then came to Beijing to discuss with her ideas and the compilation outline preliminarily discussed by both parties. In May, Mr. Zhao Shoufu and Ms. Tang, deputy editors of the agency, came to Beijing again to discuss the compilation outline and publication of this dictionary with me, and signed a publishing contract at the same time. With the support of the publishing house, we can concentrate our time and energy on this work.

199 1 September, in order to brainstorm and mobilize people in the translation field to participate in the compilation, we published the article "Calling on people in the translation field to support the compilation of China's translation dictionary" in China Translation magazine, introduced the compilation outline and ideas of this dictionary, and welcomed suggestions from people in the translation field to write entries for this dictionary. After the publication of this article, colleagues in the translation field responded with articles and put forward many valuable opinions. On this basis, we set up the editorial board of China Translation Dictionary. Invite the older generation of translators Wang, Ge Baoquan and Ye Shuifu as editorial consultants; Gao Mang, Luo, Liu, Ma Zuyi, Huang Bangjie, Xu Jun, Yang Zijian, Zhang Jin, Xu Shigu, Fang Mengzhi and other 28 scholars from relevant units were invited to serve as editors. Chen Yantian and Yuan Jinxiang are deputy editors.

The compilation outline of this dictionary and its basic situation after compilation;

1. This dictionary is a translation dictionary, which is academic, knowledgeable and practical. Its readers are translators, translation teachers, personnel engaged in cultural and scientific exchanges between China and foreign countries, researchers and teachers and students of foreign languages departments in colleges and universities.

Second, this dictionary has more than 3,700 entries and 2,452 words. Including: translation theory, translation skills, translation terminology, translation characters, translation of historical stories, translation knowledge, translation and cultural exchange, translation works, translation societies, schools and publishing institutions, and a hundred schools of thought contend in translation. The text of this book is divided into two parts: the first part and the second part. The first part is a comprehensive item, which introduces the above nine aspects in the form of items; The second part is "A hundred schools of thought contend in translation", which introduces the translation views of more than 200 Chinese and foreign translators. There is the following appendix after the text: 1? China translated memorabilia; 2? Memorabilia of foreign language translation; 3? Catalogue of Chinese-English titles of China's literary works (part); 4? A famous comparative catalogue of foreign literature (I): 5? Index of Contemporary Translation Papers in China; 6? English-Chinese index of world famous movie names; 7? List of translations of United Nations and relevant international organizations, positions and titles, and international documents and treaties.

The title of this dictionary was inscribed by Mr Qian Zhongshu, and Wu Xiuquan, honorary president of translators association of china, wrote a congratulatory message. Ji Xianlin, Ye Junjian and Ye Shuifu, famous translators and translation veterans, preface this dictionary respectively. Han Zhixin, a famous British Chinese writer, congratulated the publication of China Translation Dictionary.

Due to the heavy editing work of this dictionary and my busy business, the editing progress of this dictionary has been delayed. After I retired from the company, I tried my best to edit and review the manuscript. Finally, he began to publish articles in succession in 1996, and published the first edition in 1997+0 1, with 2500 copies printed. In May 2005, the publishing house sent a letter to discuss the reprint. Due to the heavy workload, both parties find it impossible to revise and reprint. However, according to the market demand, the publishing house published the second edition in June 2005, with a print run of 4500 copies.

5. In September, 2002, translators association of china and relevant units held the "National Seminar on Translation Dictionaries and Translation Theory" in Yantai, Shandong Province, which was the first national academic conference with the theme of translation dictionary research. The organizer of the conference invited me to attend and talk about the editing ideas of compiling this dictionary. Here, I extract two paragraphs from my written speech as follows, and explain them to translators:

My idea in compiling this dictionary is to show translation to readers (translation professionals and non-translation professionals) as a carrier of culture, and fully expand the cultural connotation, cultural atmosphere, promotion and influence on human society. I want to summarize the encyclopedic translation knowledge (including events related to translation activities) with various entries, so that readers can read a lot of translation knowledge. To appreciate the rich cultural flavor of translation, readers should see that translation culture is also rich and colorful, and there is also a sea of knowledge belonging to their own fields, a glorious history, and traces left by it in the changing situation. We should create a platform for translation to show interesting stories and thought-provoking events in translation activities.

I dare to take the lead in editing this dictionary, which is largely due to my working conditions in translators association of china. As I have been in charge of the routine work of translators association of china and the editing work of China Translation magazine for nearly ten years, I have contacted many famous translators and a large number of authors, as well as many predecessors in the translation and publishing industry. They are the main contributors to this dictionary. I asked them to come up with terms that they were familiar with or related to their own research fields. The result of this is: rich and colorful items (not designed by a few people in the editorial department), high-grade, attractive and excellent quality. So, on the whole, this dictionary (this arranged dictionary) looks better. 1998, this dictionary won the 11th China Book Award. I think it is mainly awarded to more than 200 celebrities and scholars in the translation field. They have written good entries for this dictionary to promote translation and show the whole society China's long-standing translation career and its brilliant achievements.

After the dictionary was compiled, I reported the editing progress to my teacher, Professor Ji Xianlin, and asked him to make a preface. In less than a week, I received the preface from his secretary. This is an important paper that brilliantly discusses translation and cultural exchange, translation and cultural prosperity. It is well written and worth recommending to the world.

7. This dictionary has been deeply cared for and enthusiastically supported by the translators of the older generation in the compilation process. Bian, Ge Baoquan, Ye Shuifu, Xu Yuanchong, Liu Zhongde and many other old gentlemen also enthusiastically wrote entries for this dictionary. Nowadays, many of them have passed away, but their precious words will live in the hearts of readers forever. Many experts from the Institute of Literature and Foreign Languages of China Academy of Social Sciences, as well as translators and professors from some universities, have also written a large number of entries for this dictionary. The research results and discourses they leave in the dictionary will always bring fun to readers.

(The author of this article, Lin Huangtian, is the Deputy Secretary-General of translators association of china)