Q You attach great importance to Mr. Feng Chengjun's translation work, can you explain your opinion on the translation work in detail?
Answer There are many countries and nationalities in the world, and the languages and cultures are different, and the best way to enhance mutual understanding among the people of all countries is, of course, to exchange languages to enhance mutual understanding and gradually achieve communication and harmony of life culture. However, language intercommunication can only be expected to be for a small number of people, and the vast majority of people cannot do it, not to mention the diversity of languages and writings, to be understood by everyone, not only is it impossible, but it is also a waste, harmful to the high development of other aspects. As far as scholarship is concerned, in addition to the fact that the natural sciences generally do not have the traditional characteristics of the nation-state, in various other disciplines, countries and peoples inevitably have their own unique traditions, and each has its own way of thinking and writing, and the various traditions also have their own strengths and can be observed by each other. As far as the scope of historiography is concerned, it is needless to say that the study of world history is to study one's own history, and if one can understand more foreign Chinese texts and read more of other people's treatises, it will also be of great benefit, as we have already talked about earlier when we talked about whether to start from Chinese in the management of Chinese history. However, proficient in a kind of foreign Chinese, taking English Chinese as an example, it is not easy to really read English books and periodicals, and it takes a lot of effort. A person's energy and time are very limited, and it is not impossible for anyone who wants to study Chinese history to be proficient in English Chinese, but the efforts he uses in Chinese history are bound to be relatively artificial, and his achievements are relatively reduced. Moreover, in addition to English Chinese, there are various other language writings, each with its own reference value, and it is absolutely impossible for everyone to be proficient in these languages and understand their things. Therefore, in the past hundred years, in the field of historiography, in addition to the special genius Mr. Chen Yinke, there is no second person! Therefore, I think that people who study Chinese history can be proficient in several Chinese texts, and it is of course best to observe the methods and achievements of scholars from various countries; but in fact, it is impossible, and it can only be secondary, advocating translation work, hoping to produce some big translators to make up for the shortcomings that it is impossible for domestic scholars to be proficient in various Chinese languages!
Moreover, historically, translation work has been extremely important for the spread and absorption of culture, the most obvious example of which is the eastern transmission of Indian Buddhism in the Middle Ages of China. From the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the early Tang Dynasty, although there were many believers, who traveled thousands of miles, trekked to the mountains and rivers, went to the Western Regions and India to study directly, and returned to China to spread it; but historical facts have proved that the most effective way to spread and absorb Buddhism was the large-scale translation movement of the monks and masters, and then Chinese scholars could slowly digest and integrate and expand into Chinese-style Buddhism, and even nurture and develop into the Confucian theory of the Song and Ming dynasties. We see that in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, two of China's most famous monks, Dao'an and Huiyuan, strongly advocated translation work. Mr. Tang Yongtong said that although Dao'an did not understand Sanskrit, in the seven years of Chang'an, he presided over the translation of the scriptures as the center of the work, the military chaos in the capital, the drums in the suburbs, still worked tirelessly, and the Jiangnan translation of the scriptures was flourishing, Hui Yuan advocated the strength of the majority; Tang Chu Xuanzang was even more proficient in Sanskrit Buddhism and engaged in large-scale translation work. Only through the advocacy and auspices of these masters can the important sutras of Indian Buddhism be translated, so that people who cannot understand Sanskrit can access the theoretical essence of Buddhism, and then Buddhism can take root in China and have a great impact on Chinese culture.
In modern China, there have also been a few great translators, such as Yan Fuzhi in the social sciences and Lin Shu in Western novels, all of which have played a lot of introductory roles. But since I can remember, the work of translation seems to be less valued, and many scholars who are proficient in foreign Chinese like to write their own books, rather than translating books, and even despise the work of those who translate to a lower degree. In fact, this is a huge mistake. I think that a person's work, which is mainly to contribute to the social population, has some use for others, whether it is a work or a translation. A good scholar of a foreign language, rather than proposing an immature and unpopular work, is by no means as useful as translating a Western masterpiece. Moreover, translation work can sometimes be more influential than writing. For example, Xuanzang's knowledge could certainly be written on the shu, but if he only wrote the treatise and did not translate it on a large scale, his influence on future generations at that time might not be as great, and his own position in the history of Buddhism would not be as high. Another example is Yan Fu's translation work, which had a great impact on the academic community in the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. I think that if he had only written his own works and not translated Western masterpieces, his influence would not have been so great. It is Lin Shu, although because he does not understand Western languages, it is inevitable that the interpretation will be distorted, and it is inevitable that he will choose to be improper, but his translations still occupy a considerable position in the history of modern literature, perhaps surpassing his prose works.
Mr. Feng Chengjun has been engaged in the work of Western and Chinese translation all his life, translating dozens of important treatises of early Western sinologists into Chinese, so that people who generally cannot understand the original text can read and use it, which is really a great merit! I often tell my classmates that Mr. Feng's knowledge is certainly much worse than that of Mr. Chen Yinke, but his contribution to the field of Chinese historiography is by no means under Mr. Chen. This is not an exaggeration, because the level of learning and the actual contribution to the social population are two different things, and they are not necessarily completely consistent.
In recent years, Taiwan has produced two translations of important Western masterpieces, one of which is The Complete Works of Shakespeare translated by Mr. Liang Shiqiu. I don't understand literature, and I don't know Mr. Liang deeply, but the advent of this book has made me have a lot of respect for Mr. Liang. Because this book is one of the classics of Western literature, although many people have translated Shakespeare's works before, but it seems that they are not comprehensive, Mr. Liang single-handedly completed the translation of this big book, with Mr. Liang's literary achievements, I believe that it is not only comprehensive but also the best translation, from then on Shakespeare's works will be able to penetrate into Chinese cultural traditions and become one of the blood wheels that nurture new culture. Therefore, in the long run, I believe that the contribution and influence of this book to the academic literary and artistic circles may be more profound than Mr. Liang's prose. Second, It was Joseph Needham's "Science and Civilization in China" that Mr. Chen Lifu presided over the translation. This book should have a wide influence on the world's academic circles, but it involves a wide range, and if it is translated well, it is an immortal event and a real contribution of Mr. Chen.
The reason why ordinary people despise translation work is that they think that translation is easy and writing is difficult, but in fact, good works are inherently difficult, and good translations are definitely not easy. The works are in the active position, relatively free, and those who do not understand can be avoided; but the translation is passive, and it cannot be evaded if it is not understood, so it is not easy to translate it really well; it is also a shallow view to despise translation. Moreover, the books that are selected as translators are always that he has established credibility in the academic community, and once translated, there is an objective status that is beneficial to the reader, but his own works may not be able to establish this status to benefit the reader, so the translation work is a worthwhile job for a person who is proficient in foreign languages, whether for public or private. Some people do not directly translate Famous Works in Western, but take the chapters of various famous works, intersperse them into books, and publish them as works, which is both unwise and deceitful, even if they can steal a small name for a while, in fact, the impact on society cannot last long, and their own status is not solid, which is not necessary! Therefore, I sincerely hope that people who are proficient in foreign languages will translate more and write fewer works for foreign things, and I hope that public and private institutions can make great wishes, establish translation centers, and engage in large-scale translation work. Recall that more than a thousand years ago, Kumarosh's translation of the Dapin Pan Ruo Sutra, together with more than 500 people in the old houses, detailed its meaning and examined its text; the translation of "Vipassana" and "Depressed Canal Mengxun" by Futavarma made Zhifu and more than 300 people examine the detailed meaning of the text and ensure that the original purpose was preserved; the scale of the translation field at that time can be seen here. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the translation of scriptures was fully supported by the state, and the organization of the translation field was more complete. Chinese buddhism, can take the essence of the macro, so that it has become an important part of Chinese culture, the basic kung fu in the predecessors first strive to do large-scale translation work. At present, there are many people who are proficient in foreign Chinese, and the government and private consortiums are also quite wealthy, so they should spare their efforts to advocate supporting the translation work, hoping that with the cooperation of public and private groups and individual wishes, there will be a few more Xuanzang, Yan Fu, Feng Chengjun, and Liang Shiqiu, so that the Chinese public can come into contact with Western academic culture, and also enable Chinese scholars to take translations even if they do not understand the languages of Eastern and Western countries, as a reference for research. If this can be done, it will be of great benefit to the study of Chinese scholarship and the incubation of new culture!
First draft on February 26, 1983, re-written on March 14, 1983
Source: The Three Books of Zhishi