中译英·讲好中国故事｜唐代“礼乐”治国(1)

2022-11-14 00:11

【原文】

唐代的全盛时期可以说是“礼乐”治国的盛世。根据冯友兰先生的解释，“礼”模仿自然外在的秩序，“乐”模仿自然内在的和谐；“礼”可以养性，“乐”可以怡情；“礼”是“义”的外化，“乐”是“仁’的外化。做人要重“仁义”，治国要重“礼乐”。这是中国屹立于文明世界几千年不衰的重要原因。

【参考译文】

The Tang Dynasty could be considered in its heydays when it was governed by ritual and music. Feng Yu-lan, a Chinese philosopher believed that ritual represents nature’s external order and music imitates nature’s internal harmony. Ritual can contribute to character-building, and music can enlighten our spirits. Ritual is the external expression of righteousness and music, benevolence. For people, benevolence and righteousness should be the fundamental philosophy and for a country, ritual and music should be emphasized, which is the key reason why China has stood among the world’s civilizations for thousands of years.

翻译组：

Humi，在躺平、侧卧和睡梦中寻找诗和远方

校对组：

Cece，经济学人粉丝

Lora，一只庸俗的骡，一只脱离了高级趣味的骡

解析组：

Lora，一只庸俗的骡，一只脱离了高级趣味的骡

【翻译解析】

1. 分析首句内在逻辑，可以近似理解为“因为采取礼乐治国，才有了唐朝盛世”，再看最后一句（这是中国屹立的重要原因），正好印证了这一因果关系。但是这层关系原文没有用“因为……所以……”来表现，翻译时可以用when引导状语从句表现这层微妙的关系。

2. 盛世a state/country is in its heydays/prime。

3. 礼ritual；义righteousness；乐music；仁benevolence；信integrity。

4. 段中关于礼和乐的短句可以用and来连接。当前后有反义对比时，可以用while，比如“外在的秩序”和“内在的和谐”。“礼”是“义”的外化，“乐”是“仁’的外化，为避免重复，“是……的外化”（is the external expression of）出现一次即可。否则，Ritual is the external expression of righteousness and music is the external expression of benevolence太啰嗦。