四六级文化翻译预测（一）| 先秦哲学思想与文化
2018/05/30
备考四六级仅剩19天，
同学们是不是已经开始了突击备考呢？
文化翻译一直是四六级笔试的重难点。
从今天起，小编每周定期发布四六级文化翻译预测推文，
帮助大家快速高效储备双语文化翻译素材！
孔子、孟子、四书五经等先秦思想和文化
一直是近年来四六级翻译的热点和难点，
历史术语、经典论著该如何翻译
总是让考生抓耳挠腮、不得其解，
今天，小编整理了涉及诸子百家、四书五经和孟子等内容的文化翻译，
让我们来一起学习先秦的哲学思想和文化吧！
诸子百家
诸子百家指的是中国古代先秦至汉初大量涌现并繁荣发展的各个学派的总称。春秋战国时代是从奴隶社会向封建社会转变的时代，涌现出了众多哲学家和哲学流派，纷纷著书立说，相互论战，形成“百家争鸣”的局面。1 这一时期也被称为中国哲学的黄金时代。在众多哲学流派中，最著名的是儒家、墨家、道家、法家。后来，秦王朝的崛起和随后的“焚书坑儒”宣告了这一时代的结束。至汉武帝吋，推行“罢黜百家，独尊儒术”的政策，于是以孔子、孟子为代表的儒家思想成为正统，统治中国思想与文化两千余年。2
The Hundred Schools of Thought refers to the various schools of thought that emerged and flourished during the period from pre-Qin times to the early Han Dynasty of ancient China. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period witnessed the transition from slavery society to feudal society. There emerged a large number of philosophers and philosophical schools, who wrote books to advertise their thoughts and debated with others. This phenomenon is called the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought. The era is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese philosophy. Most well-known among the many schools were Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, and Legalism. This era ended with the rise of the Qin Dynasty and the subsequent burning of books and burying of scholars. By the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu promoted the policy of rejecting the other schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism. As a result, the Confucianism represented by Confucius and Mencius became the orthodox thought which dominated Chinese ideology and culture for over 2,000 years.
翻译简析：
1. 本句内容多，句子长，采用分译法，译为三句。“春秋战国时代是……的时代”的译文用了动词witnessed，地道简练。“涌现出了……”译作There emerged…，后面是一个带非限定性定语从句的名词性短语，自然流畅。“形成‘百家争鸣，的局面”的翻译也比较灵活，在译文中自成一句，增加主语This phenomenon承前启后，衔接自然。
2. 本句也是长句，采用了分译法，原因和结果分译为两句。这里的“百家”不是实实在在的一百，是虚数，指其他众多思想派别。因此“百”不宜直译为one hundred。译文最后一句用As a result开头，不仅起到衔接作用，也指明了与上一句之间的因果关系。
四书五经
四书五经是中国儒家的经典书籍，是儒家思想的核心载体, 体现了儒家思想的核心价值和思 想体系。1四书包括《大学》、《中庸》、《论语》、《孟子》。明清时期，四书成为科举考试的核心科目。2 五经是儒家作为研究基础的 五本古代经典书籍的合称，包括 《诗》、《书》、《礼》、《易》和《春秋》。3 西汉时期，儒被国教化， 五经也因此变得更加重要，明清时期被用作科举考试的教科书。 四书五经是中国传统文化的重要组成部分，更是中国历史文化古籍中的宝典。它在世界文化史、 思想史上也具有极高的地位。4
The Four Books and the Five Classics are the classic books and the main carriers of Confucianism, illustrating the core value and ideological systems of Confucianism. The Four Books include The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius. They were, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the imperial civil examinations. The Five Classics is a collective name given to five ancient classics which were used by Confucianism as its basis of study, namely The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals. During the Western Han Dynasty, Confucianism was adopted as the state ideology, making the Five Classics even more important. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Five Classics were used as textbooks for the imperial civil examinations. The Four Books and the Five Classics are not only an integral part of traditional Chinese culture but also treasured books of Chinese historical and cultural classics. They also rank very high in the cultural and intellectual history of the world.
翻译简析：
1. 本句原文是并列句，英译为简单句，后面用分词短语作状语，主次分明，句法严谨，表达自然。
2. 科举考试相当于封建时代的公务员考试，所以译为imperial civil examinations。
3. 本句提到的五经和上文提到的四书所采用的译名，都是国内外学界较通用的，宜熟读成诵。
4. “具有极高的地位”译为rank very high，表达自然。注意rank在这里是半系动词，后面用形容词high，而不是副词highly。
孟子
孟子又称孟轲，是战国时期伟大的思想家、教育家、政治家。 孟子继承并发扬了孔子的思想，被认为是继孔子之后儒家学派最重要的代表。孟子继承了孔子的德治思想，主张仁政，即对人民“省刑罚，薄税敛”。1 当权者若无视人民需求或统治残暴，人民可将其推翻或诛灭。孟子还继承了孔子的性善学说，主张性善论。2 他认为人天生具备道德意识，可通过内省和道德教育去保持和扩充，以免腐化堕落。3 孟子对孔子学说的诠释、发展与推广和孔子学说一样对中国传统思想影响深远，二者的思想被称为“孔孟之道”。孟子的思想收录在《孟子》 中，由孟子和其弟子收集记录。《孟子》是四书之一和《论语》一样，是儒家学说的经典之一。4
Mencius, also known as Meng Ke, was a great philosopher, educator, and statesman in the Warring States Period. He inherited and developed Confucius’ thought and was identified as the most important representative of Confucianism after Confucius himself. Mencius inherited Confucius’ idea of governing by virtue, advocating a benevolent government which should reduce penalties and taxation toward its people. It is permissible for people to overthrow or kill a ruler who ignores the public’s needs or rules harshly. Mencius also inherited Confucius’ teachings of innate goodness of human nature, asserting the innate goodness of the individual. He argued that human beings are born with an innate moral sense, which could be preserved and expanded through self-examination and moral cultivation to avoid being corrupted. His interpretations, development, and spread of Confucius’ teachings became as influential in traditional Chinese ideology as the ideas of Confucius himself. The thoughts of these two great thinkers are referred to as the "Doctrine of Confucius and Mencius”. Mencius' teachings were recorded in the book Mencius, which was collected and recorded by Mencius and his disciples. Mencius is one of the Four Books, Just like The Analects of Confucius, Mencius is one of the classics of Confucianism.
翻译简析：
1. 本句有一些具有中国文化特色的词汇，如“德治”“仁政”，可分别意译为g idea of governing by virtue，a benevolent government。此外，“省刑罚，薄税敛”出自《孟子•梁惠王上》，意为减免刑罚，减轻赋税，“省”和“薄”，其实都是“减少”的意思，所以译文仅用一个动词reduce。
2. 本句涉及儒家的核心学说“性善”，是指人天生是善良的，人的本性是好的，所以译为 innate goodness of human nature。
3. 本句后半句是对前面“道德意识”的说明，所以译文釆用了which引导的非限定性定语从句，句法紧凑。把握英汉两种语言特点，有助于提高译文的可读性。
4. 本句分译为两句，第一句突出《孟子》为四书之一。也可译为Just like The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, one of the Four Books, is a the classic of Confucianism.
以上内容整理自《大学英语文化翻译教程》。
《大学英语文化翻译教程》以中国传统文化、中国现代社会经济发展及改革开放成就为主要内容，兼顾典型的西方社会文化现象，传授文化翻译技巧，加强英汉互译训练，帮助学生在学习文化知识的同时提升翻译能力，是备考四六级文化翻译的有效素材！
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