The Analysis on Translation of “Loong” 2.doc

对于“龙”翻译的剖析the analysis on translation of “loong”contentsabstract.1key words1i. introduction.2 1. the translation of “dragon” in chinese version bible.2 2. the improper translation of “loong” to “dragon” 4ii. literature review. 5 1. the origin of chinese “loong” 5 2. the symbols of chinese “loong”6 3. the origin of “dragon”. 6 4. the definition of “dragon” 7iii. correction 8iv. conclusion.9references10abstract: some western professors translated the chinese “loong” into the devil “dragon” the first time in the bible translation of english to chinese. since then, chinese translators have been making the word of “dragon” to represent the totem of china in many aspects to introduce to foreigners. in fact this is an improper resolution from the culture, history and the techniques of translation. “loong” is being the symbol of chinese nation and is a mythological creature, with the head of a camel or horse or snake, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck and body of a snake, the belly of a kind of huge clam, the scales of a carp, the claws of a hawk, the palm of a tiger, whiskers and a beard and is the meanings of being imperial, powerful, prosperous even talented etc. but the “dragon” in the west culture is the mythical beast usually represented as a huge, winged, fire-breathing reptile，and the bad definitions of satan, devil, vixen and so on bad words. so when doing translation or interpreting, we should not take the differences of culture background for granted and take the culture information gap into consideration.key words: loong; dragon; translation;摘 要: 当一些西方学者在对圣经进行汉译时，他们把邪恶的“的拉根”翻译成了中国的龙，这是历史上的第一次。自从那时起，中国翻译者们向西方介绍中国时，一直都把中国的龙图腾翻译成“的拉根”。事实上，我们从中西方文化、历史和翻译技巧上来看，这都是误译。龙作为中华民族的象征，是一种想象出来的生物，头部似骆驼或马或蛇，角似鹿，眼似兔子，耳似牛，脖子和身体似蛇，腹似蜃，鳞似鲤鱼，爪似鹰，掌似虎，还有着胡须和腮须。她还是皇权、力量、繁荣、甚至是才能的象征。但是西方世界的“的拉根”是虚构出来的，身躯庞大笨拙，颜色是黑灰色的，长着巨大的翅膀，口中吐火，经常用作撒旦、邪恶和悍妇等不好的词。当我们在翻译时，忽视了不同的文化背景。因此，我们应当多注意文化信息的隔阂。关键词：龙；的拉根；翻译；i. introduction1. the translation of “dragon” in chinese version biblethe chinese version bible finally was published in 1919 which was the blessing given by god and it experienced uncountable years. at the beginning, the purpose of bible translation was to preach to chinese and propagate the christ culture in china. as the economic of english-speaking countries had developed fast, the tide of studying english in these countries became more and more popular and important. at the same time, chinese had begun to introduce chinese culture to english-speaking countries, in which china masters frequently quoted the translation of chinese version bible. gradually, the chinese version bible had been the authoritative reference. when china masters introduced the loong to western, they translated “loong” into “dragon”. so, western people recognized chinese loong as the same symbol and figure of dragon. in fact, “dragon” and “loong” is completely different. the “dragon” was the representative of satan and it just simply indicated a kind of evil monster, an evil thing in the western peoples mind. the “loong” is the representative of goodness and it was a kind of traditional chinese mythological animal, bears the meaning of being imperial, powerful, prosperous and even talented etc. it was wildly used in peoples daily life. we could clearly see the translation of “dragon” to “loong” in the new testament:“and there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head”. (revelation12:3) 天上又出现出异象来。有一条大红龙，七头十角，七头上戴着七个冠冕。“and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born”. (revelation12:4) 他的尾巴拖拉着天上星辰的三分之一，摔在地上。龙就站在那将要生产的妇人面前，等他生产之后，要吞吃他的孩子。“and there was war in heaven: michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels”. (revelation12:7) 在天上就有了争战，米迦勒通他的使者与龙争战。龙也同他的使者去争战。“and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”. (revelation12:9) 大龙就是那古蛇，名叫恶魔，又叫撒旦，是迷惑普天下的。他被摔在地上，他的使者也一同被摔下去。“and when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child”. (revelation12:13) 龙见自己被摔在地上，就逼迫那生男孩的妇人。“and the earth helped the woman; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth”. (revelation12:16) 地却帮助妇人，开口吞了从龙口吐出来的水。（原文作河）“and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of god, and have the testimony of jesus christ”. (revelation12:17) 龙向妇人发怒，去与他其余的儿女争战，这儿女就是那守神诫命，为耶稣作见证的。那时龙就站在海边的沙上。“and the beast which i saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority”. (revelation 13:2) 我所看见的兽，形状像豹，脚像熊的脚，口像狮子的口。那龙就将自己的能力，座位和大权柄都给了他。“and they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (revelation13:4) 又拜那龙，因为他将自己的权柄给了兽。也拜兽说，谁能比这兽，谁能与他交战呢？“and i beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon”. (revelation13:11) 我又看见另有一个兽从地中上来。有两角如同羊羔，说话好像龙。“and i saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet”. (revelation 16:13) 我又看见三个污秽的灵，好像青蛙，从龙口兽口并假先知的口中出来。“and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him a thousand years”. (revelation 20:2) 他捉住那龙，就是古蛇，又叫恶魔，也叫撒旦，把他捆绑了一千年。from above, we know that in the new testament, all of “dragons” were translated into “loong”. and in somewhere of new testament the “dragon” was translated into “big snake”, perhaps, because of the similarity between snake and dragon, and the similarity between snake and loong, which caused the wrong translation. under that circumstances, china masters ability was limited. it was nature for them to ignore the difference of culture, and it was impossible for them to recognize the fault. so, nowadays, many a mainstream chinese media, book, or person, when they do the translation, they would like to put the “loong” into “dragon” in english. in my thesis i want to correct the misinterpretation.2. the improper translation of “loong” to “dragon”from above, we can clearly get the translation of about “dragon” to “loong”. in fact “loong”, however, is a kind of traditional chinese mythological animal with the head of a camel or horse or snake, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck and body of a snake, the belly of a kind of huge clam, the scales of a carp, the claws of a hawk, the palm of a tiger, whiskers and a beard, bears the meaning of being imperial, powerful, prosperous and even talented, etc. it is wildly used in peoples daily life. but the “dragon” in the west culture is the mythical beast usually represented as a huge, winged, fire-breathing reptile，and the bad definitions of satan, devil, vixen and so on. from the different angles, we can clearly get the result that this is misinterpretation. so in 2004，men tean-shan, taiwan master has put forward that we have the responsibity to correct the misinerpretation of “loong” to “dragon” in the chinese version bible. i find that nowadays, many a mainstream chinese media, book, or person, when they do the translation, they would like to put the “loong” into “dragon” in english. that causes the misunderstandings. i use “loong” as a typical example to put forward the idea that “dragon” and “loong” are two totally different ideas. they do not correspond with each other. they just always ignore the culture differences. culture is an extremely complex concept and an enormous subject. it embraces almost everything in the world, whether material or spiritual. but however complex culture can roughly be divided into three categories: material culture, which refers to all the products of manufacture; institutional culture which refers to various systems and the theories that support them, such as social systems, religious systems, ritual systems, educational systems, kinship systems and language; and mental culture, which refers to peoples mentality and behaviors, their thought patterns, beliefs, conceptions of value, aesthetic tastes. language, which possesses all the features of culture, belongs to institutional culture. like all other aspects of culture, language is not inherited but acquired and shared by a whole society; like all other aspects of institutional culture, language is conventional and governed by rules which are acknowledged and observed by all memoirs of society. language mirrors other parts of culture, supports them, spreads them and helps to develop others. this special feature of language distinguishes it from all other facets of culture and makes it crucially important for the transfer of culture. it is no exaggeration to say that language is the life-blood of culture and that culture is the track along which language forms and develops.ii. literature reviewthis kind of translation of “loong” to “dragon” is completely misinterpretation. the difference of “loong” and “dragon” comes from its source, symbol and meaning.1. the origin of chinese “loong”there is a record of about “loong” in china. it is said that when the fighting of huangdi and chiyou begin, huangdi brandished a flag on which had one strange creature with the head of a camel or horse or snake, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck and body of a snake, the belly of a kind of huge clam, the scales of a carp, the claws of a hawk, the palm of a tiger, whiskers and a beard. another source is the “loong” as the totem. the world totem comes from the accent of american indian zhong jibi wa. it means that “the members of the same clan”. in book ancient society written by molgen, “totem is to show a symbol or badge of a clan”. during the primitive society, the people could not understand the various phenomenons in the nature because of lower productivity. they thought some natural things were from their ancestor or the protection god. yandi clan made sheep, horse as their totem, and huangdi clan regarded their bear as totem. you jiao si clans totem was snake (one says feng). chiyou made chi cong as totem. bear was the tribe totem before emperor huangdi conquering emperor yandi, chiyou. after emperor huangdi founded huangdi kingdom, he gave up bear as totem so as to show the big union between the tribes. thus, using the totem characters of cynical tribes and making them together, then he got a totem with symbol meaning, which could show the big mixture and union between the tribes-“loong”. totem of “loong”, generally speaking, is a mixture with snakes body, horses head, deers horn and fishs scale and tail, tiger (or hawk)s paw together. however, the professor of the central national institute li yao zong gave another different explanation in tian xin yi zhi ding zhong hua. the real reason why emperor huangdi chose “loong” as totem is that he wanted to make the totem of fathers clan as the head and the totem of mothers clan as the body. the peculiar symbolic aggregation implies the profound evolution of father and mother side of clan society. from then on it has become the totem of first ancestor admired by chinese nation in all past times -“loong”. since “loong” totem appeared, our ancestors have regarded “loong” as the symbols of chinese nation all along for 4000 year or 5000 years. the most lofty, magical and authentic called them: the generation of “loong”. the foreigners also called china giants “loong” in the east.2. the symbols of chinese “loong”the culture of “loong” in china signifies symbols in three aspects, namely: auspicious, autocratic imperial power and chinese nation. in chinese culture, “loong” has been important position and influence. since ancient times, the culture of “loong” has become the important composition of the philosophy of china. the broad masses of people always like “loong”, revere “loong” and worship “loong”. the culture of “loong” has already permeated through chinas society as a kind of culture phenomenon which has become accumulation of a kind of culture. the developments of culture of “loong” reflect all the creation of chinese nation, which contains pious faith and spirit sustenance. just so, chinese at home and abroad all regard oneself as successor of the “loong” and are proud of it. to every descendant of the yanhuang, the image of the “loong” is a kind of symbol, a kind of spirit sustenance, and a kind of emotion. the culture of “loong” is not only spread and inherited in china, but also disseminated to all parts of the world. therefore, the image “loong”, as the chinese spirit of culture symbol and the national totem has been already deepened in the soul of each of descendants of the yanhuang.3. the origin of “dragon”in ancient times, a word of original meaning of “seraphim” (flaming angel) in hebrew was “fire snake”. the initial model of “seraphim” was an enormous snake with flame feather, and in the same period with rome, “big snake”, “python” in greek was “drakones” which was the prototype of “dragon” in the european language. at the stage being transited from the old testament to new testament in the holy bible, languages were turned from hebrew to greek. so, naturally, the first thinking was that “seraphim” should been translated into “drakones”. but in order to transmit correct meaning, scholars of jew who translated the holy bible had carefully thought of the feasibleness, and they had researched the culture of greece at first. then they argued that the negative meaning of “drakones” was too bad in greek, and there was no good trend, and it had no positions and remarkable ability too. “drakones” just was one kind of very big and very terrible animal, not possessing the glory, sacredness of “seraphim”. so, “seraphim” was transliterated finally. but, primitive form and information of meaning of “seraphim” had been totally abandoned in this course. however, we can still find a little clues today that some interpreters earlier translate “drakones” into “seraphim” directly in some hurried holy bible editions, but these editions have already been deleted and even destroyed for a long time, because they think that these are incorrect and irregular. inglorious meaning of “dragon” in western culture also expresses the derogatory sense in the language that is derived out. “thou shalt not slay thy dragon, thy dragon shalt slay thou”; “you dont kill my dragon, and your dragon will kill you”. this is not good expression of about “dragon” in english. meanwhile, dragons breaths are used for describing tone too. for example: “tom got the dragon, and he needs to brush his teeth.” you can imagine for scene: “oh my god, paul is wearing that pink skirt and blue heels with purple highs. i just want to dragon his outfit.” clothes of paul are too ugly and others cant bear it. to impervious women, “dragon” is very useful. such as “her mother is a real dragon”, which means her mother is in charge of her very tightly. the phrases of “dragon” also include the derogatory sense: likening a “dragon” means the violent one; blind “dragon” means the invited guest who is used for describing young men and women while discussing the love for the first time; the old “dragon” is devil, satan. american air force even regards “dragon” lady as the name of the plane. so as you will see the title of emergence of chinese “dragon”, dont think that this is a kind of praise to china. because the “dragon” was not a lucky thing in the west, and perhaps the article have other meanings4. the definition of “dragon”the definition of loong in world-ocean is “of mythical animal with scale being ability to rain and as the symbol of emperor in ancient times”. and in the contemporary chinese dictionary, it is “of legendary and mythical animal with long figure, scale, horn, claw; and being the ability to walk, fly, swim and rain; and being the symbol of emperor, and also put into something emperor used.” “dragon” in the world book dictionary (1981) is “a huge, fierce animal in old stories, supposed to look like a snake or lizard with wings, claws, and scales. dragons breathed out fire and smoke.” in brewers dictionary of phrase and fable (1981), it is “a dragon is a fabulous winged crocodile, usually represented as of large size, with a serpents tail; whence the words dragon and serpent are sometimes interchangeable. in the middle ages the word was the symbol of sin in general and paganism in particular, the metaphor being derived from rev. xii, 9,where satan is termed the great dragon and ps. xci, 13, where it is said the dragon shah thou trample under feet. hence, in christian art it has the same significance.”summing up above-mentioned theories, what we can find out the similarities of “dragon” and “loong” share the same scale and foot, and both of them could fly. the great difference between the two, however, does not allow us to ignore:1) the shape is different: the “dragon” has long body and no wing; “dragon” body is short, like the clear scorpion, and has wings.2) the habits and acquired characteristics are different: “loong” being t