An Overview of Translation in China

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1、-AnOverviewofTranslationinChina:PracticeandTheorybyWeiheZhong Abstract:ThispaperprovidesachronologicalreviewofbothtranslationpracticeandtheoryinChina.Translationhasa3000-yearlonghistoryinChinaanditwasinstrumentalinthedevelopmentoftheChinesenationalculture.Thispape

2、rdealswithtranslationinancienttime(1100BC-17thcentury),thecontemporarytime(18thcentury-late20thcentury),themoderntime(1911-1978)andpresent-dayChina(1978).Themajorcharacteristicsoftranslationpracticeandcontributionsofmajortranslationtheoriesarehighlighted.Keywords:

3、translation,history,China, 1.IntroductionranslationhasbeencrucialtotheintroductionofwesternlearningandthemakingofnationalcultureinChina.Chinahasanoverfivethousand-yearlonghistoryofhumancivilizationandathreethousand-yearhistoryoftranslation.Thispaperistoprovideachr

4、onologicalreviewhighlightingtranslationtheoryandpracticeinChinafromancienttopresenttimes.2.TranslationPracticeandTheoryinAncientChina2.1.EarlyTranslationinChinaTheearliesttranslationactivitiesinChinadatebacktotheZhoudynasty(1100.BC).Documentsofthetimeindicatedthat

5、translationwascarriedoutbygovernmentclerks,whowereconcernedprimarilywiththetransmissionofideologies.InawrittendocumentfromlateZhoudynasty,JiaGongyan,animperialscholar,definedtranslationas:"translationistoreplaceonewrittenlanguagewithanotherwithoutchangingthemeanin

6、gformutualunderstanding."1Thisdefinitionoftranslation,.---althoughprimitive,provestheexistenceoftranslationtheoryintheancientChina.Peopletendedtosumuptheprinciplesidentifiedfollowinghistranslationpractice.Chinahasanoverfivethousand-yearlonghistoryofhumancivilizati

7、onandathreethousand-yearhistoryoftranslation.ItwasduringtheHandynasty(206BC-220BC)thattranslationbecameamediumforthedisseminationofforeignlearning.Buddhism,whichoriginatedinIndiaandwasunknownoutsidethatcountryforaverylongtimebegantopenetrateChinatowardthemiddleoft

8、hefirstcentury.Therefore,theBuddhistscriptureswhichwerewritteninSanskritneededtobetranslatedintoChinesetomeettheneedofChineseBuddhists.AnShigao,aPersian