Source: China News Network
China News Service, Beijing, July 26 Title: Entering the "National Translation Team" of the Communist Party of China: How to Build a Bridge of Sino-Western Exchanges?
China News Service reporter Li Jingze
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. At the Central Institute of Party History and Documentation, there is a group of translation experts known as the "national translation team" of the Communist Party of China, who are committed to translating important documents of the Party to the world and allowing people to understand the Chinese Communist Party. Why is the official English name of the party the communist party of China instead of the chinese communist party? Why is the Belt and Road translated as "the belt and road"? How to build a bridge between China and the West through translation? China News Service "East and West Question" walked into the Central Institute of Party History and Literature, interviewed Liu Liang, a translator and reviewer of the Sixth Research Department, and Shaun, an Irish expert, and asked them to tell the story behind them.
An excerpt from the interview is as follows:
China News Service: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. As the "national translation team" of the Communist Party of China, your court recently organized experts to translate General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. What references or expressions have impressed you with? What message do you think this important speech sends to the world?
Liu Liang: Many of the formulations in the General Secretary's "July 1st" speech are very inspiring, such as "the great spirit of party building," "taking history as a mirror and creating the future," and "the great man of the country." What impressed me the most was the translation of the phrase "Jiangshan is the people, and the people are the Jiangshan".
The translation can be summarized into two sentences: one is how to understand the Chinese, and the other is how to express it in foreign languages. The word "Jiangshan" can be conjured up with "seizing power" in the context of "fighting Jiangshan", but "fighting Jiangshan" and "seizing power" are the context of the first half of the last century. The Communist Party of China has been founded for a hundred years, and as the ruling party, it has been guarding the country for more than 70 years, and if we understand "Jiangshan" as "political power" alone, it is a bit one-sided, and it is more comprehensive and accurate to understand "country."
Under the rhetoric of Chinese, "Jiangshan is the people, and the people are Jiangshan" is a metaphorical rhetorical means. In a foreign context, are there similar and identical sentence patterns? In Europe, King Louis XIV of France once said "l'état, c'est moi" (朕即天), using metaphorical sentences similar to Chinese in European and American contexts. From the perspective of language, when translating "Jiangshan is the people, the people are Jiangshan", the same way can be adopted, and the fundamental connotation of this sentence can be expressed more concisely. So we finally decided on the translation strategy of literal translation (this country is its people; the people are the country)。
This sentence reflects the people's stand of the Communist Party of China, highlights the party's understanding of the importance of the people, is a refinement and sublimation of the people-oriented thinking in China's traditional thinking for thousands of years, and reflects a great feeling of the Communist Party of China.
SHAUN: This important speech has sent several very clear messages to the world.
First, the Chinese people are peace-loving people who never bully or oppress the people of other countries, and will not do so in the future; second, China hopes to cooperate and develop together with all countries in the world, and China will persist in opening up and not engage in closure; third, China is determined to defend national sovereignty, development interests and territorial integrity, and does not accept bullying, oppression or enslavement by other countries.
Data chart: On the morning of July 1, the conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was solemnly held in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
China News Service: We have noticed that some Western media often refer to the Chinese Communist Party as CCP (the chinese communist party), but the official English expression of the Chinese Communist Party is cpc (the communist party of China). As experts from the central authority of document translation, the two believe that the official determination of the English name of the party as CPC is based on what considerations, and how to view the difference between CPC and CCP?
Liu Liang: In the early days of the founding of the Communist Party, the Communist Party of China was relatively weak in terms of strength, and at that time it chose the ccp (the chinese communist party) as the Chinese translation, indicating that this party was not a communist party founded in other countries, but in China. Later, the party continued to grow and grow in strength, and the Chinese Communist Party changed its English name to cpc (the communist party of China), which mainly reflected the independence of the party. From a historical point of view, the problem is relatively clear.
CCP is used in official Chinese documents and media reports, while some foreign media have been using CCP, and this inconsistency is not in line with convention. There is only one Communist Party of China in the world, and whether the name is Chinese, English or various foreign languages, it should follow the convention and rule of "the name follows the master", and it should be up to the Chinese Communist Party itself to determine which name to use, so as to conform to international practice.
SEAN: I'll start with china, which can mean something related to China, referring to Chinese culture, Chinese people, or the Chinese nation. "The Chinese Communist Party" emphasizes that the party was founded Chinese China, but its focus is still on the "communist party." The key to "the communist party of China" is in the "of china" part, that is, this party belongs to China and is a party that fights for China. With the development of history, "the communist party of China" can better reflect the nature and mission of the Communist Party of China.
Data map: In the platform of "Yixinou" China-Europe Express Jinyi New Area, the staff is carrying out the lifting operation of Tashkent cotton pulp containers. Photo by Li Jianlin
China News Service: The outside world is highly concerned about the important ideas and initiatives of the Communist Party of China, and the relevant translation methods have also attracted much attention. For example, for a period of time after the birth of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the Outside world once expressed it in English as "one belt, one road", but then the official expression was determined to be "the belt and road", why did it finally decide to use this translation and no longer highlight "one"?
Shaun: "One belt, one road" is a literal translation, which is very close to the "Belt and Road" in form. Belt means belt, but it can also refer to belts, and pairing with one may be reminiscent of a belt, and the meaning is not particularly clear. "The belt and road" gives everyone a better idea that we are talking about the economic belt, not a belt. Another problem is that "one belt, one road" overemphasizes the word one, "Belt and Road" includes the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", under the framework of multiple routes rather than just one route, with "the belt and road" can avoid such a misunderstanding.
Liu Liang: The translation of "the belt and road initiative" is now very common, but in the beginning, the English translation (in some reports) did not use idealization, but strategy. The word strategy implies a national behavior strategy, and after changing it to an initiative, it shows that the core of the "Belt and Road" is cooperation, open and inclusive, and it is hoped that every participant can discuss, build and share, which is the purpose of the "Belt and Road". With such a translation, the English concept (of the "Belt and Road") was quickly widely disseminated and used around the world.
China News Service: For most Chinese and foreign readers, the translation of central documents has a certain mysterious color. Can you talk about why the CCP attaches so much importance to the translation of central documents in light of history and current situation? This work seeks to build channels of dialogue between China and which foreigners?
Liu Liang: The translation of central documents is the translation of important party and government documents of the CPC into foreign languages, which originated in the 1920s and 1930s. On May 27 and June 12, 1927, the Publications of the Organs of the Comintern published the Report on the Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan in Russian and English, which was the first work of Mao Zedong to be translated into a foreign language. Since then, the translation of Mao Zedong's works has been carried out on a small scale, until the period after liberation, which can be called the first period of central document translation, that is, the initial period.
The second period can be summarized as a period of institutionalization. In 1950, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China established the Committee for the Publication of Selected Works of Mao Zedong and began to organize translations for the Russian and English editions. In December 1961, the Translation Office of Mao Zedong's Writings was formally established and was subordinated to the Central Compilation Bureau, and the institutionalization of the Central Literature Translation (permanent) began at that time.
After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, it entered the third period of central document translation, which I call the period of rapid development or new development of the blowout, with the continuous expansion of translated content and the continuous innovation of forms. In particular, after the institutional reform in 2018, the Central Compilation Bureau, the Central Party History Research Office and the Central Literature Research Office have integrated the establishment of the Central Party History and Documentation Research Institute, and now the sixth research department engaged in the external translation of central documents has seven languages: English, Russian, French, Spanish, Japanese, German and Arabic, and the translation mechanism has achieved a qualitative leap.
The content of the translation of the central documents has been expanded from the original translation of Mao Zedong's works to three major sections. A large section is the translation of the works of leaders and various anthologies; the second is the translation of important conference documents, including the report of the party congress, the government work report, and the five-year plan; and the third is the translation of the party history, the party constitution, and the party rules.
Communication channels are divided into four aspects: the first is the news media, and during the two sessions and successive party congresses every year, the news media can get the official translation of the report for the first time. The second category is diplomats, and the personnel of embassies and consulates in China and the reception personnel of Chinese (leaders) who visit foreign parties will receive relevant translations as a reference for daily work. The third category is academic researchers, who can refer to official translations to understand China's policy guidelines. The fourth category is commercial and administrative personnel, and now many foreigners come to China to carry out government affairs and business activities, and if they want to understand the situation in China and the history of the Communist Party of China in advance, they can get references from the translation.
Liu Liang and Shaun discuss issues at work. Photo courtesy of Liu Liang
China News Service: There are many political concepts or concepts of the Communist Party of China that are rooted in the soil of Chinese history and culture, closely integrated with Chinese social practice, have originality, have specific meanings and value judgments, and these words are difficult to find ready-made corresponding concepts or explanations in the target language of translation. Can you give an example of how to let the outside world read the ideas and propositions of the Chinese Communist Party through accurate and in-place translation?
Shaun: When we translate theories and ideas, we must not only consider the literal meaning, but also the external meaning (deep meaning). Some important theories or expressions can be translated word by word, such as "crossing the river by feeling the stones" can be translated as "crossing the river by feeling for the stones", through literal translation to let foreign readers feel the Chinese culture and language characteristics.
Other ideas require careful consideration of how to translate. For example, great power diplomacy is an important part of China's diplomacy, and some people will use "great power diplomacy" to translate (great power diplomacy), but this translation is easy to remind people of power politics and colonialism, and China has made it clear that it will not follow this old road, so "great power diplomacy" is not in line with the principles of peaceful development and win-win cooperation advocated by China's diplomacy. We feel that what is more in line with these principles is the "major country diplomacy", which expresses the meaning of "major country" and is more objective and neutral.
Liu Liang: A very important point in the translation of political documents is to correctly express the key information, for example, the community of human destiny is a major concept put forward by the general secretary, and the key to the translation of this word lies in how to understand "destiny" and how to understand "community". We translate it as "a community with shared future," and the key word is "shared future," meaning a common future. This translation is in line with the core idea of the community of human destiny, "creating the future together". Some people also translate it as "common destiny", destiny also has the meaning of fate, but there is a sense of certainty and fate in it, if used in this word, it violates the meaning of Chinese.
As translators, we are not simple text porters, but to build a bridge of communication between the original author and the reader. We hope that the translation can be understood by foreign readers, so that the vast number of foreign people can recognize the Concept of China, so that our voice can be spread more widely, and we can be heard, heard clearly, and understood.
China News Service: We have noticed that every once in a while, the central literature translation department will study and summarize some new formulations and provide official translations. What are the considerations for choosing the new formulation and what principles are followed in determining the translation?
Liu Liang: These new formulations and new expressions can be summarized as terms translated by the central literature. The approval of the terminology of the central document translation is a function defined by our institutions at the time of the institutional reform in 2018 (the central government).
We generally publish some terms on a regular basis, following four principles when publishing: first, the core concept; second, the communication power (the formulation); third, some professional expressions; and fourth, discourse with Chinese characteristics.
Shaun: The principle of translating terms is first of all fidelity, trying to make foreign languages present the position, viewpoint and style of the original text, and also consider how to make these terms fluent and authentic, so that foreign readers can accept them.
The purpose of translation is to disseminate and communicate, and China's political language is very condensed and condensed, which requires us to do some explanatory work. For example, "four consciousnesses", "four self-confidences" and "two maintenance", if we only translate these important expressions literally, foreign readers may not be able to understand their meaning thoroughly, and we must do the necessary interpretation and interpretation.
Sean took a photo in Guilin, Guangxi, China. Courtesy of Sean
China News Service: Foreign translation provides credible texts for the accurate expression and effective dissemination of Chinese experiences, Chinese stories, and Chinese solutions, but considering the differences in cultural backgrounds and discourse systems between the East and the West, discourse conversion has long faced great challenges. How should this challenge be seen and understood? How to integrate the stories of the CCP and China into the world culture through translation, and build a bridge between the civilizations of the East and the West?
Liu Liang: We have always hoped to clear the impact of cultural differences in translation. To do this, there must be at least two changes, a change in concept and a change in roles.
The change of concept means that we want to establish a concept of openness, inclusiveness, equality and sharing. When translating the CCP's ideas, concepts, and policy guidelines for governing the country, we must not only do a good job in writing, but also open our minds. Only with an open and inclusive attitude can further exchanges be possible, mutual appreciation between various cultures can be realized, and mutual learning among civilizations can be developed. The role shift requires translators to always think and examine translation work from the perspective of the reader. We must not only learn the language of our audience, but also pay attention to and understand their cultural ideology.
Shaun: The cultural differences between China and the West do cause some trouble for our work. For example, China and the West have different understandings of red. Chinese especially like red, thinking that it represents festivity, luck, and wear red clothes when getting married, and more importantly, red also represents the revolution and represents the Chinese Communist Party. In the West, red is more associated with aggression and anger. Therefore, when we translate red jiangshan, red tourism, and red genes, we do not use the word red, but translate its meaning directly, such as translating red Jiangshan as "socialist country", so that we can avoid bad expression effects.
China News Service: In the process of translating the party's documents, "foreign faces" have attracted more and more attention. What role did foreign experts play in the translation of relevant documents for the centenary of the founding of the CPC?
Liu Liang: In fact, the translation of central documents has followed the model of Sino-foreign cooperation at the beginning. As early as 1950, when the translation of Mao Xuan began, a group of foreign experts, solomon adler, Israel epstein, sidney rittenberg, etc. were involved in the translation of Mao Zedong's works.
When the translation is reviewed, foreign experts may revise and polish the translation. As Chinese, we will make a good Chinese understanding to ensure that the translation is faithful and accurate, and the combination of Chinese and Western will greatly improve the level of translation. The greatest contribution of foreign experts is to provide some authentic translations, including the report of the Nineteenth National Congress and the translation of the General Secretary's "July 1st" speech, and many people who understand foreign languages or foreigners read it and find that the translation is particularly fluent and the expression is particularly similar. A large part of this effect is the contribution of foreign experts and the result of Sino-foreign cooperation.
China's social economy is constantly developing, its international influence is constantly improving, and more and more foreign friends are coming to work in China, constantly supplementing the team of foreign experts. In this context, we hope to recruit more and higher level foreign experts, expand more and make full use of the language advantages of foreign experts.
China News Service: Mr. Shaun, how do you view the CCP's practice of recruiting foreign experts to translate documents? What did you learn from participating in the translation of literature?
Sean: I particularly like this working model. For example, this year, we translated "A Brief History of the Communist Party of China", learned some of the history of China and the Chinese Communist Party in advance, read the book "Ninety Years of the Communist Party of China", and read some foreign language materials. Through these preparations, we can better understand the history of China and learn about the expression of Chinese history from English history books. In this respect, it improved my knowledge of Chinese culture, history and politics. (End)