Bulletin Summer 1979

Q. Are there any fundamental differences between ancient Chinese philosophy and western philosophy? A. Yes, there are conceptual differences between ancient Chinese and western philosophy. The development of science in the West is attributable to the application of the concept of mechanical causality to explain natural phenomena. This concept prevailed until the beginning of this century when Einstein's theories gained acceptance. Ancient Chinese used more than one concept to interpret those phenomena explained by causality in the West. One of these concepts is that of stimulus and response. As Hs ü n Tzu put it, 'When the forest is luxuriant, axes will arrive; when a tree affords shade, birds will use it as a place of rest; when there is vinegar, gnats will gather.' Another one is that of 'sympathetic attraction between things of the same kind'. Again to quote Hs ü n Tzu, ‘When a horse neighs, other horses will respond' because ‘(the gentleman) sees to it that his words are perfect and men who are like him in this respect will respond.' The Chinese proceeded to study the problem why only things of the same kind would respond and extend its application to explain other phenomena. Q. H ow long have you been doing this research? A. I have worked on the Huai Nan Tzu for about ten years. I am now working on the L ü Shih Ch'un Ch'iu and am making better progress. I hope to come up with something in one or two years' time. Q. Apart from philosophy, I understand that you have a strong interest in translation. A. When I was teaching Chinese abroad, I employed the traditional method of on the spot translation in class used in the teaching of Latin and Greek. This provides very good training for both teacher and student, and the ultimate aim is to be able to tell immediately whether the translation is faithful to the original and whether it is in idiomatic English. M y main interest lies in the translation of classical works. Possibly because m y training is in philosophy, I am very meticulous about the grammatical correctness of writings; therefore when I was translating the Analects and the Mencius, I was very careful with the grammar of the original text. Besides, I paid special attention to the implied meaning of words and phrases. Only when these hidden meanings are grasped can one hope to produce a good translation. For example, a literal translation of the saying ‘古之學者爲己，今之學者爲人，（ scholars of antiquity studied for their own sake, scholars today study for the sake of others) would lead foreign readers to think that ancient people were very selfish. Misunderstanding can only be avoided by rendering it in some such way as, 'Men of antiquity studied to improve themselves; men today study to impress others'. Q. What is the greatest difficulty in translation? What are the major differences between trans- lating literary works and philosophical works? A. In translation, we must be aware of the basic meaning as well as the extended meanings of words. For the rendering into English of a Chinese word whose extended meaning is used in a sentence, I would not consider it satisfactory to reproduce only the extended meaning of the original in the context: the translation must also have the same basic meaning—and this is the most difficult part of translation. I have for years been engaged in the translation of ancient philosophical works, but m y interest in poetry translation was only developed in recent years. I feel that in the translation of literary works ， the beauty of the words used must be retained, while in the translation of philosophical works, not even a small deviation from the ideas of the original should be tolerated, and every hidden meaning in the text must be given full treatment. Q. Can translation be taught? A. Theories of translation can be taught, but when it comes to practice, theories are of little help. Sensitivity to a language can only be acquired through hard practice ； a teacher can, perhaps, give a student advice here and there but not in any systematic manner. In translating language A into language B, it is essential for the translator to understand language A perfectly—but he need not be able to write it well—but he must be able to express himself well and with resource in language B. 11